Love Lives On
by DeeMarie426
Summary: Clarissa Goodwin is an attorney and single mother of two trying to get over the loss of her husband. Jonathan Good is a wrestler that has found himself in trouble with the law over a bar fight. Can Clarissa keep things professional while defending him, or will they step into the murky waters of mixing business with pleasure?
1. Chapter One

**Disclaimer: I own nothing and nobody you recognize. Only the OC's are mine.**

* * *

 **Love Lives On**

* * *

 **Chapter One**

* * *

Clarissa rolled over and subconsciously reached across her bed. The other side was ice cold. Opening her eyes, she quickly glanced around her room before she slowly stood up. Maybe he was off getting ready for work. After all, he was a cop, so he had crazy work hours.

Walking into the kitchen, she grabbed the full coffee pot and two coffee mugs and placed them on the counter. She began to pour the hot liquid into each mug when it suddenly hit her. He wasn't off getting ready for work like her brain had conjured up upon waking up. No. She was in her silent kitchen because she was all alone. Well, at least for the moment. He should be there with her, listening to her rant and rave about whatever came to her mind as they each drank their cups of coffee and ate their breakfast, but instead she stood all alone in the cold, silent kitchen.

"God Cay, how have I managed to get through the last three years," she questioned out loud. "I still feel like it just happened yesterday. I miss you so much," she confessed. "You should be standing here telling me I'm ranting about nothing, and informing me about how your shift went last night, or telling me how you can't wait for Cristy and Kay-Kay to get up so you can help them get ready for school," Clarissa spoke to the empty room. To any 'normal' person, this would be weird, to Clarissa, this was an ordinary morning before she woke her two daughters up to get her ready for school and day care.

* * *

She quickly drank the rest of her coffee as she quickly dumped the extra mug she had poured for Cay as she heard feet running toward the kitchen. "Mama, I'm hungry," her youngest daughter exclaimed as she entered the kitchen, her older sister not far behind her.

"What would you like to eat, princess," she asked, a smile now gracing her features.

"Waffles, mama." Clarissa chuckled as she pulled a sippy cup and a small glass down to fill them up. Waffles had been Caelan's favorite breakfast, too.

"Alright, here's your juice, go watch some cartoons while mommy makes your waffles," Clarissa instructed her daughter, as she made sure the lid to the cup was on tightly before handing it to her daughter.

* * *

As she made the waffles, she turned her attention to her older daughter as her youngest daughter giggled at the television. "Are you ready for you big test today," she questioned as she pressed the waffle iron down against the waffles. Cristiana shrugged her shoulder and made a face that reminded Clarissa of her father. She couldn't help but notice the striking resemblance both her daughters held to her father. Not only did they both look like him, they had a lot of his attitude, too. It was like God knew Clarissa would never survive without Caelan, so he made sure she had the female versions of him, and helped Clarissa decide to name her youngest daughter after her father, to honor him. The night he had been shot and killed in the line of duty had been the day Clarissa had found out she was pregnant with Kaylin. She never did have a chance to tell him before he had left for work that night, so he never knew he was going to be a father for the second time.

* * *

After the doctors informed her there was nothing more they could do and that Caelan was gone, she had been forced to make the most bitter sweet call she had ever had to make. She called his parents to inform them their son had been shot and killed in the line of duty, but she had also informed them they were going to have another grandchild. She wished she could have told them in person, but she and Caelan lived in Las Vegas where he worked for the Las Vegas police department, and his parents still lived in Florida; where he had been born and raised, and had met Clarissa when she had been transferred there for work. They dated for two years before they got engaged and subsequently married a year later. Right after they were married, Caelan was transferred out to Vegas where Clarissa still lived with Cristiana and Kaylin today.

"Kay-Kay, come get your waffles so mommy can get you ready to go to day care, while I go to work." The little blue eyed, blonde haired girl came running into the kitchen, her cup in one hand and her favorite stuffed animal monkey in the other. Clarissa lifted her into her booster seat and put her plate and fork in front of her. "Eat up so we can get you to school," Clarissa instructed. "Do you want anything," she questioned her eldest daughter. Cristiana shook her head.

"No, I'm not hungry."

"You really should eat, sweetie. Especially because you have your test today," she tried to coax her daughter into eating something, but Cristiana wouldn't budge.

"I said I'm not hungry, why can't you just leave it at that," she asked before storming out of the kitchen.

Ever since Caelan had died, Cristiana was a different girl. She had taken her father's death hard and despite the fact it had been three years, she still wasn't over it; no matter how many times she said she was. Clarissa didn't know what to do to fix it anymore either. She had her in therapy, it didn't seem to work; she had her school counselor talk to her, that didn't seem to work. It broke her heart to see her daughter like this, but she was complete out of ideas.

* * *

After Kaylin and Cristiana were safely at school, Clarissa headed to her office. She was a lawyer. A very successful lawyer. Being a single mother and a full time successful lawyer was no easy task; especially in a city like Vegas, but she loved her daughters and she loved her job, so in the end, it was all worth it. Today's task wasn't an easy one. She had exactly eight hours to figure out how she was going to defend her latest client. He was a public figure that lived in Vegas and had somehow gotten himself into trouble with the law while out gambling with a group of friends one night. Opening the file she had lying on her desk, she began to riffle through the paperwork trying to figure out why this guy was listed as a 'public figure' and why his case was so much heavier than her previous cases.

* * *

 **Name: Jonathan Good**

 **DOB: December 7, 1985 (29)**

 **Home Town: Cincinnati, Ohio**

 **Resides: Las Vegas, Nevada**

 _ **Profession: WWE Superstar**_

 _ **Ring Name: Dean Ambrose**_

* * *

Bingo! So he was a professional wrestler. That's why this case was considered 'high profile' and so different from her other cases. Now she had to figure out what the hell he had done to get himself into trouble, so she continued to skim through the paperwork until she came across the police report from the night of the supposed incident, she stopped skimming and began to read through it.

* * *

 **On July 15, 2015 Subject B (Mr. Good) and some friends were enjoying a night out on the town when subject A(Mr. Stevens) and some buddies bumped into them. Subject A stated that he and his friends were fans of Subject B, and they politely requested a couple autographs. Subject B told them no and proceeded to walk away when Subject A told him how rude he was being. Subject B continued to ignore Subject A until Subject A threw a drink on one of Subject B's girl companions. That's when Subject B says Subject A punched him in the face and threw him on the ground before verbally assaulting him and leaving the scene with his friends.**

* * *

So it wasn't anything out of the ordinary. Just another assault case, but because Mr. Good is a public figure, it makes the case 'high profile'. Felicity rolled her eyes. While Mr. Good should technically be guilty, he was provoked, and he was only defending his friend. Now if she could just find a way to prove that, she could help him win this case. Picking up her phone, she found his number on the paperwork and dialed it. She had to get him into her office to get his side of the story and figure out exactly how to approach this mess.

"Hello," a deep, gruff voice answered.

"Mr. Good," Clarissa questioned.

"Yes, may I ask who is calling please?"

"I am Clarissa Goodwin, I'm an attorney with the highest court in Vegas. I was handed your case file this morning and was hoping to meet with you to get your side of the story and figure out how we're going to fight this case," Clarissa informed him.

"Oh okay, cool. Just give me a time to be at your office and I'll be there. I'm off work and in town today and tomorrow," he informed her.

"How does one PM today sound," she asked.

"I'll definitely be there," he informed her before they hung up.

Setting the meeting for one o'clock gave Clarissa four full hours to read through the rest of his case file and eat a fairly quick lunch before he showed up.


	2. Chapter Two

**Chapter Two**

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 **Disclaimer: Still own nothing you recognize. Just Clarissa, Katie, Kaylin and Cristiana are mine. I also forgot to mention in my previous disclaimer, the story title doesn't belong to me either. It's actually a song title. The song is sung by Mallory Hope. It's a really good, but sad, song. If you've never heard it, feel free to check it out on YouTube.**

* * *

 **Author's Note: I figure it's probably a good idea to mention that I am not a lawyer so all my 'info' came from google, or watching shows like "Cops" and "People's Court" "Judge Judy", etc on TV. So don't shoot me if there's something wrong in the early going of this story. On that note, enjoy chapter two. :)**

* * *

Clarissa had just finished looking over the case file and eating her lunch when there was a knock on her office door. "Come in," she called as her assistant poked her head through the open door.

"Ms. Goodwin, there's a Mr. Good here to see you," she informed her.

"Thank you, Katie. Let him in, please." Katie nodded and stepped back out of the office for a moment before returning with Clarissa's newest client.

"Hello, Mr. Good," Clarissa greeted her new client with a smile. "Please, have a seat," she offered, motioning to two empty chairs on the opposite side of her desk. "Should we get right to it," she asked, as he nodded.

"Yes, please," he responded.

"Alright well, I think we should start out with you giving me your side of the story," she requested, as she neatly stacked the case file papers in front of her on her desk. "I read the police report, but it only gives the accusers account of what happened that night. Did the police not take a statement from you before arresting you," Clarissa asked. Jon shook his head.

"No, they just came to my apartment, threw cuffs around my wrists almost immediately after I opened my door, quickly read me my rights and hauled me off to jail for the night," he informed her. Clarissa made a quick note of that in a blank space on the case file. "Caused me a hell of a lot of trouble at work, too."

"Well, that was their first mistake. Let's see if we can find any others, shall we? Go ahead and give me your side of the story and I'll see if there's any way to poke holes in the accusers original story to help us find a way to win this case," Clarissa said.

"I was out with a bunch of my friends and my girlfriend. We were sitting at a table eating and having a few drinks. My girlfriend and I got up to go gamble a little bit when this guy recognized me. He asked me for an autograph. I told him I didn't have a sharpie or pen to sign anything, but if he had one, or could find one, I'd have no problem signing something for him. He didn't say anything to me after that. He just walked away. I figured he went to find a sharpie or pen and would find me if and/or when he found one. I mean, the establishment wasn't that big, so I figured it wasn't a big dead. About fifteen minutes later he came back over to me and proceeded to inform me it was rude of me not to sign an autograph for him. Knowing he was beyond drunk I just let it go and tried to walk away," Jon started out. "After roughly another fifteen minutes passed we had all finished our drinks at my table, so my girlfriend got up to get us another round of drinks and on her way back to the table with the drinks he pretended to bump into her causing the drinks to spill all over her shirt," he explained. "Now, I can admit I got pissed off and I did deck him. I know I was wrong for that, but everyone in that room could tell he purposely bumped into her, and it wasn't like a little tap. It was a forceful bump; almost like a shoulder tackle which is why the drinks spilled all over her shirt," he explained further. "To clarify, when I say the drinks got spilled, I don't mean they just splashed on her shirt, I mean he shoved into her hard enough there was nothing left in any of the cups; they were all completely dumped on her shirt, the tray she was carrying and the floor," Jon stressed, so Clarissa would see it wasn't just an innocent little shove. "But aside from the one punch I did not 'assault' him like the report indicates. I threw one punch that connected; more because he was completely drunk than because I have great aim. My aim is good, but it's not great; especially not after I've had some alcohol. Anyway, this was after I tried numerous times to avoid an altercation, but he just kept coming back," Jon explained even further. "If you have a problem with me, that's one thing, but when you start taking out the issues you have with me on my girlfriend or friends, that's where you cross the invisible line I have drawn," he said, finishing his entire side of the story.

"So you told him you had no problem signing something, but you had no utensil to do so, correct," Clarissa questioned. Jon nodded.

"Correct." Clarissa shook her head.

"That's not what he told the police. He said you just flat out refused to sign anything. Jon laughed humorlessly.

"I know, I've seen the report, but I have at least three witnesses that can testify to the contrary." Clarissa nodded.

"That's great, but will they be willing to testify in court on your behalf," she questioned. Jon nodded.

"Of course they will." Clarissa nodded.

"Are they aware you're being sued, and have they told you they would testify for you if you needed them to?" Jon nodded.

"Yes. Two are two of my best friends, the other is my girlfriend; all of whom were with me and saw the entire altercation as it took place. Hell, when I was arrested they were the ones that urged me to fight it. So yes, if need be, they'll have no problem testifying on my behalf." Clarissa nodded once again as she continued to make notations on the papers in front of her.

"Inform them they'll all be getting subpoenaed to appear in court on your behalf the day the case is tried." Jon nodded. "With that being said, I need all three's names and addresses so we can get the subpoenas out in the next day or two," she said, sliding a piece of paper over to Jon so he could write down all the information she would need.

* * *

After all the information was written down and placed securely inside the manila envelope that the case file was stored in, Clarissa moved to the next piece of business. "Do you want to file a counter suit? Technically, you could. From what you've said, he had you falsely arrested and fabricated his story, so it's up to you, but you do have the option," Clarissa explained. Jon thought about it for a few minutes before he shook his head.

"No. I just want this mess to be over with. As much as I would love to deck the guy again, I won't take any money from him. I have enough money to last me for quite a while anyway, given my profession, and all, so I don't need his." Clarissa nodded.

"Alright, well, I want to thank you for coming in today so we could get this ball rolling. I honestly believe we can beat this case, just based on what you told me today, and the fact you have eye witnesses. Do you know if the bartender saw any of this," Clarissa asked. Jon nodded.

"I'm fairly certain everybody in the bar saw it. It happened right smack dab in the middle of the establishment."

"Good, I think I'll subpoena the bar and have them send the bartender as a witness because while your friends are all great, an eye witness with no 'ties' to the defendant is always something that can put the case over the top and win it," she explained. Jon nodded.

"Okay, sounds good, and I'll let my friends know what's going on so they're not caught by surprise when the subpoenas arrive in the mail, or by marshal, whatever it is they do these days," Jon said as he stood to leave the office. Clarissa nodded.

"Good idea, and I'll keep in touch. If I need more information, I'll definitely let you know," she told him as she walked him to the door and opened it.

"Thank you, I don't usually keep my phone very close to me – I'm a technology illiterate – but in this case, I'll be sure to make sure it's as close to me as it can get for the time being," Jon admitted. Clarissa laughed.

"Sounds like a good plan. I'll be in touch, and it was nice meeting you, goodbye," Clarissa said as Jon exited the office.

"It was nice meeting you too, goodbye," Jon called over his shoulder.

* * *

Clarissa finished up a bunch more random things around her office, and having Katie draw up the subpoena's and get them enveloped and ready to be mailed the next day, Clarissa packed everything up and called it a day. She needed to pick Kaylin and Cristiana up from day care and school, and get home to get dinner on the table before giving Kaylin a bath and putting her to bed, having her usual evening chat before bed with Cristiana after her shower, and before she herself could fall into bed.


	3. Chapter Three

**Chapter Three**

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 **Slight Disclaimer here: Aside from the fact I own nobody you recognize, I want to also let it be known that I am _not_ by any means a lawyer, nor do I know anybody in the law firm field. So anything I do know comes from watching day time court shows on TV and Google. If I screw something up I truly apologize. It's not my intention to screw anything up, but I am not a professional in this field by any means, so I am only trying my hardest.**

 **Author's Note: I wanted to have this posted much earlier(like back around Dean's birthday,) but life got in my way. Between working, Christmas shopping, present wrapping and caring for a nine month old puppy(she's _a lot_ like a baby. So take it from me, if you're thinking about getting a puppy, ask yourself if you're ready to have a baby; if the answer is no, my suggestion is to hold off. The only difference between a puppy and a baby is the fact a puppy can be left home alone (mine spends her day in a crate until I get home from wrok) while a baby actually needs a babysitter.) Anyway, I my point is, with all that going on, I haven't had much time to write. So tonight, while watching WWE's "Tribute To The Troops, with my puppy sleeping soundly beside me, I decided to finally get this proof read and posted. So I hope you all enjoy. :)**

* * *

Two weeks had passed since Clarissa had agreed to take on the WWE superstar's court case and the accuser, or in 'court talk' the plaintiff, had actually started to try to fight back, saying Jon was a pathological liar and he had videos to prove it. Come to find out he was planning to try to use old wrestling video promos that had been uploaded to the internet years ago. For someone that claimed to be a fan, he wasn't very bright. She wasn't even a WWE or wrestling fan and even she knew the superstars that performed for WWE all played characters inside the ring and whenever they were in front of the cameras; much like actors did when they stared in moves. You would think his attorney would have informed him of this, but apparently his attorney was just as dumb as he was, or they just didn't care to inform their client that those videos wouldn't be allowed as evidence.

For right now Clarissa wouldn't bother to try to figure out which of the two scenarios the answer is. As far as she was concerned this was all just his, and possibly even his attorney's, desperate attempt to reach for any straws they could reach just to get the case leaning in their favor.

Even though Clarissa was almost positive the courts wouldn't allow the videos to be submitted as evidence, a good lawyer never took 'almost' as a 'definite', no matter how positive they were about potential evidence. So she sat down at her desk in her office, opened up her laptop, brought up her default web browser and immediately jumped onto YouTube. Ultimately she would need to talk to Mr. Good, let him know what was going on, and come up with an absolute plan to combat this properly. But for right now, she was just going to sit and look up all videos of her client to see if there was any way to prove just by watching them that it was all an 'in-character' thing. Though the videos weren't likely to be allowed as submitted evidence it was better to make sure she had all her bases covered so they wouldn't be blindsided down the line. This would also help her and her client fight this case properly.

* * *

Two hours had passed and Clarissa found herself still sitting at her desk watching old YouTube videos. Two. Hours. And it wasn't even because she was still gathering information she needed to fight the case, either. It was because she legitimately found all the matches she found extremely interesting. Or to be more specific, she found _Jon_ interesting. There was absolutely no denying he was in-character in every single one of these videos, and that helped her put the case evidence aside after about three videos, but the videos were just too good to look away from. When the third video had ended, Clarissa was going to stop watching, but then another video started playing and it caught her attention. Every time a video would end she would tell herself that was it, but then a new one would start and she'd get roped back into watching it, and as it neared its end, she'd say that was it, and the process would just start all over again. She just couldn't bring herself to stop watching and close the browser.

That is until there was a knock on her door finally forcing her to click the small red X in the top right hand corner of her browser screen. "Come in," she called as she slammed her laptop lid shut. Katie poked her head in the room.

"Mr. Good is here to see you." Clarissa smiled and nodded.

"Send him in please," she told her assistant. Katie nodded and stepped back as Jon stepped into Clarissa's office. "Mr. Good, thank you for coming down here as soon as you could. I know you're a busy man," Clarissa acknowledged. Jon nodded and sat down in the chair across from Clarissa's desk. "So the plaintiff's lawyer contacted me today and he says his client is going to use old wrestling videos to prove that you're a pathological liar and that you're completely unstable and that's why you did what you did on the night in question," Clarissa informed her client. Jon nodded in understanding, but remained silent, taking in everything his attorney was telling him. "Now, I spent about an hour watching some of your old videos," Clarissa let that lie flow smoothly. "And I don't see any reason why he should be able to get away with those as 'proof' in a court of law. As a matter of fact, chances are the judge won't even allow them to be submitted as evidence, and there's two reasons they shouldn't be allowed," Clarissa slowly informed him. "The first reason being they're internet videos that anybody can edit and upload to make them fit their case," Clarissa said, holding up one finger. Lifting a second finger she continued "The second reason being they're all videos showing you within your line of work. It's not like they're random private videos that captured you abusing somebody in a bar or on a street, or anything of that nature," She said, placing her hand back down to rest on her desk. "So I honestly don't think we have to worry about them. But just in case the judge is lax and does allow them, I just want you to know that I'll do _**everything**_ in my power to prove you were in character during _**every one**_ of the videos they choose to submit," Clarissa said. "Now, I'm not sure exactly how to do that yet because I don't know exactly what videos they're going to try to use, but I'll burn that bridge if and when the judge allows them into evidence," Clarissa finished. Jon nodded again.

"Do you think me saying I don't play a character in past interviews, or saying that my character is literally just me turned up to eleven will come back to haunt me if he does allow those videos into evidence," Jon questioned. Clarissa shook her head.

"No because even if that is true, there's no video proof of you being 'turned up to eleven', as you said outside of the ring. Not to mention, you have three eye witnesses, four if you include the bar tender who agreed to appear on your behalf, that will help prove that," Clarissa said. Jon nodded.

"So we have nothing to worry about then, right," Jon asked. Clarissa shook her head.

"You trust me, right," Clarissa questioned. Jon shrugged.

"I don't really know you to trust you, honestly." Clarissa nodded.

"Okay, fair enough. But you contacted my office to handle your case, so clearly you trust my professional abilities, right," she asked, rewording her question. Jon shrugged again.

"Yeah, I suppose that's fair enough," he admitted.

"Then you have no worries because I can promise you I will do everything I possibly can to win this case for you," Clarissa informed him. Jon nodded as he glanced around the office, a photo that sat on Clarissa's desk catching his eye.

"Who's that," he questioned, pointing at the photo. Clarissa smiled.

"That would be my daughter's, Cristiana and Kaylin,  
Clarissa acknowledged his question. "The photo is a little old, but it's the newest photo of the two of them together with Cristiana smiling, that I own," Clarissa admitted. Jon nodded.

"Well, they're adorable." Clarissa smiled.

"Thank you." Jon nodded.

"No problem," he said, glancing around the room again. "So, tell me if I'm being too forward here, but I can't help but notice you have two daughters, but your ring finger lacks the presence of a wedding band. No lucky guy swept you off the market yet," he questioned. Clarissa frowned.

"There used to be, but my husband died three years ago, before I even knew my youngest daughter existed. I found out I was pregnant the day he was killed, but never had the chance to tell him before I got the phone call informing me that he had been shot."

Just like that, Jon suddenly felt absolutely terrible for asking. "I'm so sorry. I never should have asked that was so stupid of me." Clarissa smiled sadly and shook her head.

"It's okay, you didn't know," she said. Jon shook his head.

"Yeah, but I still shouldn't have asked. Like we said earlier, we don't know each other outside this office, and that was extremely personal information, so I never should've asked." Clarissa shook her head.

"No, really, it's okay. You didn't have any way of knowing." Jon nodded.

"Alright, well, after everything that's been said today, I think it's time I get going before I put my foot in my mouth again because it honestly doesn't leave a very good taste," Jon half joked. He really did feel terrible and wished he hadn't questioned the lack of a wedding band. He wasn't even sure why he did. He had a girlfriend, so why did he even care if his lawyer was on the market or not? "I will touch base with you again next week," Jon said, standing up.

"Sure, and if anything comes up before then, I'll be sure to definitely give you a call to let you know," Clarissa said, walking him out of the office. She knew he felt terrible, and wanted to get out of there as quick as possible. It was clearly written all over his face, so she wasn't going to force him to stay any longer than he wanted to, or try to convince him everything was okay. It was okay. By now she was use to those types of questions, but she could also understand how embarrassed he felt. How he felt like he'd asked too much and pushed too far. So the best thing to do was let him leave. Besides, this was all completely professional and there was no reason for them to spend any more time together than they absolutely had to.

* * *

 **Author's Note: And the very slow, agonizing build(because it will be slow and agonizing) begins...**

 ** _NOW!_ Muhahaha.**

* * *

 **And on last note: For those of you that celebrate: I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas. For those that do not: Enjoy your day off from work/school/whatever it is you got out of due to the holiday. :)**


	4. Chapter Four

**Chapter Four**

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 **Disclaimer: I only own Clarissa, Cristiana, Kaylin, Rebecca and Jake. Everyone else is owned by themselves or WWE(by that, I mean character names like 'Dean Ambrose' belong to the company; but Jonathan Good obviously owns himself. ;))**

 **Author's Note: Somebody sent me a message asking about Jon/Dean's girlfriend and allowing him to see her true colors. Well, I hadn't initially planned to bring her in THIS early, or having this unravel this quickly with them, but this chapter just flowed so easily with this scenario, so she makes her first appearance in this chapter. Oh and I liked the 'twist' it ultimately adds to the court case, too.**

 **Hope you all enjoy.**

* * *

Jon was sitting in the car mentally kicking himself for that stupid question. It was none of his business whether his lawyer was married or not. She was his _lawyer_ not his best friend or sister. He needed to keep things professional. Besides, he had a girlfriend! Speaking of girlfriend. Jon pulled his phone out of his pocket and quickly pulled up her number before hitting the green 'send' button. He was hoping she wasn't busy and she'd answer because right now he just needed a distraction.

One ring.

Two rings.

Three rings.

Jon was just about to hang up when he heard the line click, signaling somebody had answered the phone. "Hello," he heard her say, sounding slightly out of breath.

"Hey babe. You okay? You sound like you just ran a marathon," he questioned. She laughed.

"I'm fine. I just left my phone in the bedroom and I was in the kitchen. Didn't hear it right away so when I did finally hear it, I had to run to make sure I didn't miss the call," she claimed. In reality, she had heard the phone the whole time, but was a little busy.

"Oh okay. Well, I told you I'd call you after I got done with the lawyer today to update you," he reminded her. She nodded her head even though he couldn't see her.

"Mmhm, yeah, and how'd that go," she asked. Jon started the car and began pulling out of the parking lot.

"It was okay. No court date set yet, but she's pretty confident we won't have any problems winning the case; especially because you, Joe and Colby as well as that night's bartender have all agreed to testify on my behalf," Jon informed her.

"That's… That's good," she stuttered, trying to keep her train of thought off of the current activity Jon was unaware of and she didn't want him finding out about.

"Are you sure you're okay," he questioned again. "You still sound like you're out of breath, but we've been on the phone five minutes. Surely you should've caught your breath by now? I mean, I'm a former smoker and it doesn't take me that long to catch my breath after a run," Jon said. "Maybe you should go to the doctor," he suggested.

"No, no, really, I'm fine. I just decided to go for a jog on the treadmill is all," she lied smoothly again, hoping he'd buy it.

Jon wasn't so sure he believed her, but he'd let it go for now. "Well, okay. I'll be home in like a half hour. I have to make a quick stop at the store," he informed her as he pulled into another parking lot and parked in an empty space.

"By all means, take your time. No need to rush home. I'm just working out anyway." That wasn't really a lie, but she wasn't doing the workout he thought she was.

"Yeah, okay. Well, I'll see you in a little bit," Jon said climbing from the car and slamming the car door shut.

"Okay, sounds good. Love you," she said before hanging up without giving him a chance to respond.

* * *

"You're horrible," she moaned as the man between her legs chuckled.

"Don't blame me, I told you not to answer it," he reminded her.

"I had to answer it. If I didn't, he'd have come straight home and caught us."

"Well, that was kind of my plan. I'm ready to just be with you. Why won't you just break up with him already," he questioned.

"Because it's not that easy. He needs me right now. After his court case is settled then I'll work on telling him, but for right now it needs to stay this way."

"What if they ask me to take the stand in my own defense, Rebecca? Then what? I won't lie about why I really started this whole thing. I will refuse to at that point."

"You would go to jail then, Jake. Do you want that?" He shook his head.

"No, but the whole idea behind this was to get the asshole out of your life, and now you're sticking up for him and appearing as a witness on his behalf. What the fuck is up with that," he asked.

"I can't just turn my feelings off. No, I don't love him anymore, but I still care about him, and what you did that night was wrong," Rebecca admitted.

"So you're going to help him win the case and then break his heart by telling him you want to be with me? Do you hear how fucked up that sounds," he asked. Rebecca shrugged.

"I haven't decided exactly how I'm doing anything yet," she admitted. "Look, we don't have a lot of time here. He's gonna be home in like fifteen minutes. Are we finishing this, or what," she asked, sliding back down on his shaft. "Mmm, we have got… to… oh god… got to make this… shit, yes, right there," she moaned as Jake thrust his hips up to meet hers.

"I bet he doesn't make you feel this good. Ever. Does he, Becca? He doesn't fuck you until you're about to pass out from pure delicious pleasure and exhaustion, does he," Jake goaded. Becca shook her head. She couldn't deny it. Jon was good, but for her, Jake was better. Jake always had a way of driving her off the edge at least five times every time they fucked. But that was the problem. It was only ever fucking. What she had with Jon was more. It was deeper.

But what she didn't realize was that it was all about to come crashing down and she'd never be able to get any of it back. She was about to ruin the best thing that had ever happened to her and she didn't even know it, or care in this present moment.

* * *

Clarissa finished out her day rather quickly. After Jon had asked his questions and left, she wasn't in the best of moods and just decided to call it an early day. She did her best to complete the work she absolutely needed to complete. Anything that wasn't as important she would just finish up tomorrow. Today she planned to go pick up Kaylin from daycare early and wait for Cristiana to get done school and surprise her when she picked her up. This afternoon would be a complete mother/daughters hang out afternoon.

Quickly completing the work she was on for the Good case, she shut down her laptop, safely stuck it in her carry case and closed up her office. "Katie, I'm cutting out early today. I have no other clients scheduled for today, not cases to defend, and most of my work is done, so I'm gonna make the rest of the day 'mother/daughters' day," Clarissa informed her assistant. Katie nodded.

"Okay, see you in the morning," Katie responded as Clarissa made her way to the exit of the office.

* * *

After a quick pit stop at home to get changed, Clarissa drove to her youngest daughter's daycare and went inside to the 'office'. "Hi, Ms. Austin," Clarissa said, giving the office receptionist a big smile. "I got done work early today, so I decided to come pick up Kaylin early. Can you let Ms. Taylor know I'm here please," Clarissa asked. Ms. Austin smiled.

"Surely, Ms. Goodwin. Have a seat, Kaylin will be out in a moment," Ms. Austin responded as she got up to go get Kaylin from the daycare room.

"Thank you. Oh and do me a favor, don't tell her it's me. Just tell her somebody is here to pick her up," Clarissa requested. Ms. Austin smiled again and gave a quick nod as she exited the office.

Clarissa waited about five minutes before Ms. Austin walked back into the office holding Kaylin's hand. "MOMMY," Kaylin shouted as she let go of Ms. Austin's hand and ran toward Clarissa.

"Hi, baby girl," Clarissa say, squatting down and scooping her daughter up into her arms. "Did you have a good day?" Kaylin nodded.

"Yes. I wearned the wetter A today," Kaylin informed her mother.

"You did? That's awesome," Clarissa said, standing back up. "Thanks for getting her, Ms. Austin," Clarissa acknowledged. Ms. Austin smiled.

"No problem. Have a great afternoon, bye Kaylin," Ms. Austin said. Kaylin waved goodbye as Clarissa carried her out to the car.

Clarissa strapped Kaylin into her car seat and climbed into the drive seat. "We have a few hours before Cristi gets done school. Where do you suggest we go first," Clarissa asked.

"Pawk, mama," Kaylin shouted. Clarissa chuckled.

"I should have guessed that one, huh," Clarissa said with a chuckle. If there was one place her youngest daughter loved, it was the park. She would ask to go to the park even if it were pouring rain. "Alright, we'll go to the park for a little bit before we go pick up Cristi and head somewhere for lunch. Sound good," she questioned. Kaylin nodded.

* * *

Clarissa checked her watch to see they had been at the park nearly two hours. That gave her a half hour to get to Cristi's school to pick her up, so it was time to pack Kaylin up and get a move on. "Alright, Princess, one last time down the slide and then we have to go get your sister from school," Clarissa said. Kaylin slid down to the bottom of the slide where Clarissa caught her and scooped her up as she giggled. "Time to get going. I don't want your sister getting on the bus today," Clarissa said as she carried Kaylin toward the car.

* * *

A fifteen minute car ride later, Clarissa pulled up in front of Cristiana's school with fifteen minutes to spare. She got out and walked around to the back of the car, unbuckled Kaylin and pulled her out and stood her beside her on the ground. "Stay here with mommy, while we wait for Cristi," Clarissa instructed her daughter as they stood there.

* * *

Ten minutes later, Cristi walked out of school with a bunch of her friends and headed toward the bus before she noticed her mother and sister standing there. Her eyes just about bugged out of her head. The last thing she wanted was for her friends to see her mother and little sister outside of her school. "Uhh, I'll talk to you guys tomorrow. I'm gonna walk home," Cristi lied as she quickly walked toward her mother and sister. Once out of sight and hearing range of her friends, she gritted her teeth. "Mom, what are you doing here," she asked, not one bit amused to see her mother.

"I thought today could be a mother/daughters day and cut out of work early. Come on, we'll go somewhere for lunch," Clarissa said, ignoring her daughter's poor attitude. "You get to choose. So where would you like to go," Clarissa asked. Cristi folded her arms across her chest and shrugged.

"I don't really care, technically I already ate lunch," Cristi responded snidely. Clarissa scowled.

"I'm not sure what your attitude is for, but you had better get rid of it quickly. I will not allow you to ruin this afternoon for your sister and I, so adjust your attitude right this minute, or when we get home I'll give you a reason to have an attitude," Clarissa said. "And that's not a threat, it's a promise," Clarissa clarified as she picked Kaylin back up and placed her back into her car seat, snapping the straps into place. "Get in the car," Clarissa demanded. Cristi opened the passenger side door and climbed in, tossing her back pack into the back next to her sister.

"Mama, Chik-fil-a," Kaylin questioned.

"You want Chik-fil-a," Clarissa questioned, causing Kaylin to nod. "Well, means your sister wants to be a sourpuss and refuses to pick a place, sure," Clarissa smiled at her youngest daughter in the rear view mirror. "Clik-fil-a it is." Christiana remained silent in the passenger seat, glaring out the window as they drove away from her school toward the aforementioned restaurant her little sister had just decided they would have lunch at.

* * *

After an awkwardly silent lunch, aside from Kaylin's little chatter through the meal, Clarissa took her daughter's home. "Go do your homework, Cristi, and do not let me see you with the television or music on at all tonight," Clarissa told her eldest daughter. "I told you if you didn't change your attitude I would give you a reason to have an attitude, didn't I," Clarissa questioned as Cristi nodded. "Well, your attitude never changed, so now you're punished. You will do your homework, eat dinner, take a shower and go to bed every night this week," Clarissa said. "Give me your cell phone because the punishment means you cannot talk or text on your phone, you won't be watching TV, you won't have friends over, and you'll be in this house until at least Friday," she informed her now slack-jawed daughter as she took the iPhone out of her daughter's out stretched palm.

"That's not fair," Cristi shouted as she watched her mother place her phone in her purse. Clarissa smirked.

"Sure it is. You ruined my afternoon with you and your sister with your poor attitude, so now I'm ruining your week. Now, get to your room and do your homework," Clarissa scolded her daughter. Cristi stomped her way up the stairs as Clarissa turned her attention to Kaylin.

"Mommy, why Cristi mean," Kaylin questioned. Clarissa shook her head.

"I'm honestly not sure, sweetie." She wished she did know. If she had an answer for her, maybe they could fix this. But she honestly didn't have a clue. Cristi had been the best little girl when Caelan was alive. She became this horrid little witch after Caelan's funeral. It was like she realized her father wasn't coming back and at the tender age of ten, the little girl that Clarissa loved and raised had died along with her father. So not only had she lost her husband, but she'd lost the best part of her daughter, as well. It had been three years, and despite all the therapy and love Clarissa tried to give her there hadn't been even a glimpse of the old Cristi ever reappearing, and it broke Clarissa's heart.

* * *

 **Author's Note: So this is likely the last update for 2015, so I hope you all have a happy New Year. I may not get another chapter up until the second week of January. We are making an impromptu trip to Florida. My grandma had surgery about a month ago, and her recovery is not going as well as we had hoped, and grandpa and my aunt need a little help, so mom and I are going do to help out for six days(1/4-1/9). Usually when we go to Florida I take my laptop, but this time I don't think that will be happening. So I will try to have one more update up before we leave, but I won't make any guarantees.**

 **Hope you all enjoy the start of your new year!  
**


	5. Chapter Five

**Chapter Five**

* * *

 **Author's Note: Well, I ended up bringing my laptop with me to Florida after all, so here's the next chapter!**

 **FYI: I'll throw this out there due to the end of this chapter: I know Dean has a sister, I also know her name, but that's literally all I know. So I honestly don't know if he's older or younger than she is, but for this story I'm going off a hunch, and we're gonna say he's older.**

* * *

Jon finished up at the store and headed back toward his apartment. The conversation he had with Rebecca was still running through his head. He just couldn't stop thinking about it because the entire conversation gave him a bad gut feeling. Something about the whole thing just didn't seem quite right. Glancing toward the bag in the passenger seat he was really beginning to wonder if he should have even bothered with this idea. Turning into the apartment complex's parking lot, he parked his car in his designated spot and grabbed the bag before jumping out of the car and locking it.

"We… Oh god," she moaned. "Fuck Jake. We have to… Shit," she almost groaned from the pleasure he was creating. "Stop. We have to stop," she finally managed to say, her hands now flat against his chest trying desperately to push him away. But Jake was having none of it.

"No, I haven't gotten off yet. I'm not leaving here until I get to cum," he sternly told her.

"We don't have time or that right now. Jon will be home any minute," Rebecca reminded him.

* * *

Jon stepped off the elevator and headed toward his apartment, pushing all his doubts to the back recesses of his mind. He was fully ready to make tonight special. He just wanted a nice quiet dinner followed by an equally quiet night alone with his girlfriend.

* * *

"I promise, the next time we get together, I will make sure you get off twice if you want, but for right now we have to end this," Rebecca told him. "I don't want him to find out this way. I would much rather tell him what's going on than have him walk in and catch us. I honestly believe it'll make things much easier that way. You have to trust me," she said as he shook his head in aggravation. Little did he know none of what she was saying was even remotely true; she had no true intentions of ever telling Jon, or allowing him to find out. This was all just a fun little game Rebecca was enjoying playing.

"Fine, whatever."

* * *

Jon put the key in the lock and unlocked the door, pushing it open. But what he saw when he stepped past the threshold had him seeing red and wishing he hadn't bothered to come home. He knew something didn't seem right about their earlier conversation, but this? He never would've imagined, or even guessed this. There stood Rebecca, helping the same guy he was locked in a legal battle with re-button his shirt while she stood in just her bra.

How could he not see red at this situation? This entire thing clearly appeared to be some kind of set up.

The bag he had brought in with him fell out of his hand as he purposely slammed the open door shut behind him catching the attention of the two people standing in front of him and causing both of them to jump. Rebecca screamed and stepped aside as Jon lunged toward Jake. Before he could actually reach the scumbag, he came to a sudden halt as the rational side of his brain broke through the red, angry fog, quickly reminding him that a physical altercation would surely hurt his case, and that was probably exactly what this guy was aiming for. He wasn't going to give this son of a bitch any ammo to use against him in court. "Get out," he said in an eerily calm voice while looking from Rebecca to Jake back to Rebecca again. "Get your clothes on and get the fuck out of my apartment," he told both of them.

"Wait, Jon, just let me explain," Rebecca said, trying to regain control of the whole messy situation.

"There's nothing to explain. My eyes have told me everything I need to know. You're a fucking cheating slut, and I want you out of my apartment by the time I come back out of my bedroom. So get your fucking clothes on and leave with your boyfriend, or I'll be calling the police," Jon told her keeping the eerily calm tone to his voice as he walked into the bedroom.

* * *

Rebecca was stunned. She had no idea how to react to the events that had just taken place, or how to proceed after them. She had never planned on getting caught. As a matter of fact, she had no true intention of ever staying with Jake. It was all just sex. Hot, mind blowing sex, but nothing more. This wasn't how this was supposed to end.

She quickly pulled her clothes back on before taking a step towards her boyfriend's closed bedroom door. She only stopped when Jake grabbed her arm. "Do you really think that's a wise idea right now," he questioned. "The guy is the most hotheaded jackass I've ever met, and you want to go confront him about this," he surmised.

"You don't know him, so shut up," she warned. "I have to go talk to him. I need to explain this whole situation to him, and let him know I'll still testify on his behalf if he wants me to." Jake laughed.

"You cheated on him with the guy you're testifying on his behalf against and you think he's gonna still want your testimony? You really and truly are a stupid bitch." Rebecca couldn't take anymore insults. Turning toward Jake she slapped him hard across his face just as the bedroom door re-opened.

* * *

Jon slammed the bedroom door behind him and pulled his phone out of his pocket. How could he have been so fucking stupid? How had he been so blind? Why hadn't he been able to see the signs? Surely the signs were there, so how could he have missed them? He felt like a complete loser right now.

Scrolling through his contacts, the first person's name he landed on was Clarissa's. She wasn't his friend, but for some reason he felt like she would understand. Besides, this kind of pertained to his case, considering the guy his girlfriend cheated on him with was the plaintiff in the court case he was involved in, and she was defending. That was justification enough for him. He hit send and listened to it ring.

Clarissa turned the burner on the stove down so she wouldn't burn dinner before quickly digging through her purse and pulling out her ringing cell phone. ' _ **Jon Good**_ ' flashed back at her from her phone's screen. Glancing at the clock she furrowed her brow. It was well after office hours. "Hello," she questioned as she answered the phone.

"Clarissa," Jon asked.

"Yes, Jon. May I ask why you're calling me after hours on my personal number instead of leaving me a message at the office to return in the morning?" She knew she gave all her clients her personal cell number for emergency cases, but something in his voice as he spoke her name told her this wasn't an emergency, so what could he possibly want or need that he felt it necessary to call her personal phone instead of leaving a message for her on her office's answering machine?

Jon sighed. This was the first time she had called him by his first name instead of his last for professional reasons. It felt weird yet calming and somehow right at the same time.

"I know we're not friends, but all of my friends likely would laugh in my face, and your name was the first one I came to on my contact list as I was scrolling. Anyway, I just walked into my apartment to find my girlfriend cheating on me with the plaintiff in my case. I know it's after hours, and this is less than an emergency, which means I definitely could've called the office and left you a message or even called you at the office tomorrow with this information, but I didn't know who else to call. Like I said, all my friends would've likely laughed at me, and probably called me an idiot, and your name was the first one I came across in my contact list," Jon admittedly repeated.

"Wow! That's fucked up," Clarissa admitted as she stirred the pot of macaroni she had cooking on the stove. She was a bit shocked to hear that. The way Jon talked about his girlfriend she never would've pegged her as a cheater. "I'm so sorry to hear that," Clarissa sympathized. "Well, I guess we'll have to take her off of the witness list because even if she's still willing to testify it won't do us any good because her testimony is now considered 'tainted', given she now has a vested interest in the other side of the case as well," Clarissa informed him. "But you still have your two best friends as well as the bartender as your witnesses, so I see no reason why you still shouldn't win," Clarissa said. As she put the wooden spoon she was using down another thought that could cause issues with the case occurred to her. "Oh no. Jon, please tell me you didn't lay a hand on him. You didn't, did you," she asked. Jon chuckled.

"No, I didn't," Jon reassured her. "I saw red when I came through the door, so God knows I wanted to. I even started to lunge toward him, but the rational part of my brain kicked back in right before I was able to reach him. I quickly reminded myself that touching him would just give him ammo in our case and found a way to restrain myself." Clarissa let out a sigh of relief.

"That's good. No, I take that back. That's actually great. Most guys wouldn't have cared about a court case, or any of that if they caught their significant other with someone else; let alone the plaintiff in their case," Clarissa admitted as she turned the burner off and pulled a strainer from under a cabinet. "So yeah, I don't see any reason why you still shouldn't win. We just have to remove your girlfriend; or well, I guess it's former girlfriend now," Clarissa questioned. Jon laughed.

"Well, I'm pretty sure I'd be considered stupid if I stayed with her after this." Clarissa laughed.

"Fair enough. So yeah, we'll just remove her from the list of witnesses, and I will inform the judge about the newest developments first thing in the morning," Clarissa said. "Thanks for calling to let me know, and please, whatever you do, **do not** get physical with him. Jon nodded.

"No problem. And I don't plan to. I came in my bedroom after I told them I wanted them out of my apartment, and I told them if they weren't out by the time I came back out of my bedroom I would be calling the police," Jon informed her. "However, I can still hear them talking in my living room. Apparently, she still wants to testify on my behalf," Jon laughed a bit bitterly. "Let me go inform her that her testimony is no longer needed and get them out of my apartment. If they won't leave willingly, I'll just call the police and hide in my bedroom until they arrive," Jon said. Clarissa nodded.

"There ya go, that's your best bet. I will call you tomorrow after I talk to the judge about this," Clarissa told him. "I know this sucks right now, Jon, but try to hang in there. I'll talk to you tomorrow." Jon nodded.

"Okay, thank you. I'll talk to you tomorrow," he told her as he hung up and reopened his bedroom door just in time to see Rebecca's hand connect with the side of Jake's face. Jon wanted to laugh, but he knew that was inappropriate in this situation. Biting back the laugh he focused his full attention on Rebecca.

"Rebecca, I just wanted to let you know I just spoke with my lawyer, and due to your cheating your testimony in this case will no longer be needed," Jon informed her as he walked over to the door and pulled it open. "Now, if you both would please get out of my apartment," he said, motioning toward the door. "I would like to enjoy the rest of my night in peaceful silence."

Rebecca wanted to fight with him, but she knew she couldn't. She had no right. Putting her head down, she walked out of the apartment, Jake following closely behind her. She had no idea how she was going to fix this situation, but she knew she had to at least try to fix it somehow. But for now, she'd walk just away like a scolded dog.

* * *

Once they were out of his apartment, Jon slammed the door behind them and picked up the bag he had previously dropped on the floor when he had first walked in the apartment and caught them. Taking the bag into the kitchen, he unloaded the contents that were inside onto the counter. He had initially intended to make a nice romantic dinner for himself and Rebecca, but she clearly had other ideas, so now he would enjoy the meal all on his own.

He wasn't the greatest cook, and it wasn't the most romantic meal; just spaghetti and already made meatballs that just needed to be thrown in a pot to heat up with a side of garlic bread, and a salad as an appetizer. But the saying always said it was the thought that counted.

* * *

While the pot of water was coming to a boil and he had the oven pre-heating for the garlic bread, Jon pulled his phone back out of his pocket where he had replaced it after he hung up with Clarissa and searched for his sister's number. He hadn't talked to Lauren in a few weeks, but he needed to talk to somebody and he didn't want to burden Joe, Colby or Drake with his sob story right now. They would no doubt hear about it in due time, but now wasn't that time, so she was his next best option. He watched the pot of water while he pulled a bowl from a cabinet for the salad as the other end of the line rang before Lauren finally answered. "Hey big bro. To what do I owe this lovely phone call," she joked. Jon smirked.

"Haha, you're so funny," he responded sarcastically. "Stop acting like I don't ever call you."

"Who's acting? This is reality. You _don't_ ever call me," she said. "I usually have to do the calling unless you have some kind of problem. Funny and ironic how the _**younger, little**_ sister is the one that gets the calls when the _**older, big**_ brother has some kind of problem, isn't it?" Jon rolled his eyes.

"Why did I even bother calling you," he questioned. "I'll make it easy for you, forget I called tonight because clearly you'll be worse than talking to any of my friends about this. I'll talk to you later," he said moving his phone away from his ear before he heard his sister telling him not to hang up.

"Wait Jon, I mess with you every time you call and you never freak out like this, so clearly this is serious," she surmised. "So I'm done joking and making light of whatever your situation is. Just tell me what's going on," she asked. They had been all the other had for so long growing up, Lauren knew if he was getting mad about her joking something serious must have happened. She was just like him, always joking and pulling pranks unless the situation wasn't a joking matter, and clearly, this one was not. Jon sighed.

"I walked in from a meeting today to find Becca cheating on me." Lauren gasped.

"Rebecca cheated on you," she asked, a tone of shock tingeing her voice. She couldn't believe the one girl Jon had been comfortable bringing around family(mainly her) and friends turned out to be as big of a tramp as the other girls he'd been with in the past. Jon nodded even though he knew she couldn't see him.

"Yeah, with the guy that's suing me, no less," he laughed, humorlessly.

"Wow! That's totally and completely fucked up. What a bitch," she exclaimed.

"Yeah, tell me about it. So now I'm cooking myself dinner and sulking and I needed somebody to talk to. I have no idea what to do," he admitted. "It's weird because I should be completely pissed and breaking things or something right now because of my temper, but instead I'm kind of relieved," he confessed.

"Well, did you love her," Lauren asked. It was a logical question. Jon shrugged.

"I thought I did, but she cheated and while I was pissed at first, after I calmed down I was just like 'maybe this is for the best. Maybe I need time to myself'," Jon admitted. Lauren smirked.

"Were there problems between you two?"

"No, not problems, problems, but the relationship definitely wasn't the same as it was back in the beginning." Lauren nodded.

"Do you want my honest opinion?" Jon nodded.

"Yes please. I just want to figure this all out."

"I think you guys just drifted apart, and you've probably known the relationship was over for a while, but never wanted to admit it because that would mean being alone again, and you didn't want that either. But her cheating was just the final nail in the proverbial coffin. You will find someone else and life will go on." Jon laughed.

"Life always goes on, right?" Lauren responded with a laugh of her own.

"Yes, yes it does," she admitted. "Alright, well I have a meeting coming up I have to get to. I will call you tomorrow and check in with you to make sure you're doing alright, okay," she questioned. Jon nodded.

"Yeah, I'll talk with you tomorrow," Jon said as they hung up.

* * *

After the conversation with his sister Jon felt a thousand times better about being alone for a little while. Maybe it was exactly what the doctor ordered for him and in due time he would find someone he could be with for good. For now, he would work on getting through this court case and continuing to live his dream with WWE.

* * *

 **Author's Note: So here's another chapter in the books, and now things really started to unravel with the court case.**

 **Also, I think this is the longest chapter I've ever written for any story. So enjoy that because I'm not sure when, or if it'll ever happen again. Haha.  
**


	6. Chapter Six

**Disclaimer: I still own nothing and nobody you recognize. Clarissa, Christiana, Kaylin, Caelan, and Jake are all figments of my own imagination.**

* * *

 **Author's Note: Sorry this took me so long to get up. Work has picked up for me, and tomorrow I start a new department, which required me to change my availability to 8PM, so updates may become even more spaced out, but I'm trying my best. I opted not to do the entire court case in this mainly because it wouldn't taken forever to write, and as I stated in an earlier author's note, I am not an expert, so giving only the ruling seemed like the best bet. Hopefully you all still enjoy this chapter.  
**

* * *

 **Chapter Six**

* * *

A month had passed since Jon had caught Rebecca cheating on him. She had tried desperately to get in contact with him; even going as far as showing up at his apartment door at midnight one night, but Jon was having none of it. He wanted absolutely nothing to do with her, and he did a pretty good job of proving that when he told her to get her crap out of his apartment while he was on the road, and to leave her spare key on the coffee table; even went as far as to tell her if it wasn't there when he returned home, he would simply change the locks.

Rebecca knew he wasn't kidding, so keeping the key to try to get to him would have been pointless. So when Jon returned, all her belongs were removed and the key was left in the center of the coffee table, where Jon had instructed she leave it. When she showed up at the door, Jon ignored the pleading cries that were coming through the door. He was so glad he'd taken his key back off of her.

* * *

Today was the court date. Jon couldn't deny he was nervous. Even though he knew he had the best lawyer he could ask for in this situation, and therefore had no reason to be nervous, that didn't stop the butterflies from fluttering about in his stomach. Clarissa had done as she said she would and had Rebecca removed from the list of witnesses, but Colby and Joe were still on it, and both sat behind the defendants table, behind their best friend, both supporting him and awaiting their names to be called to go up and testify.

Jon entered the court room beside Clarissa and they made their way to the defendants table quietly. Clarissa opened her briefcase and pulled out all the important documentation she would need for this case and sat down beside Jon, who was nervously tapping his foot against the floor. Clarissa listened to it for a bit before she couldn't take it anymore and gently placed her hand on his knee to stop the bouncing movement. "Relax, there's absolutely no reason to be nervous. We've got this in the bag, I promise," she whispered. She gave him a reassuring smile as she moved her hand off his knee just as Jake and his lawyer entered the courtroom.

* * *

An hour later Jon sat listening to the judge give a ruling. "Under normal circumstances, I may find in the plaintiff's favor, for the simple fact the defendant laid his hands on the plaintiff, but this is not exactly what we would call "normal circumstances"," the judge informed the courtroom. "Any time there is a person with any type of celebrity sitting on the defendant's side of the room you must take every little detail of the case into account," the judge addressed further addressed the court. "For instance, while it was not talked about today here in court because it didn't really have anything to do with the case, however, I am well aware that there was supposed to be another witness on Mr. Good's behalf, but she was removed from the case due to the fact she and Mr. Andrews had an affair. That fact, along with Mr. Anaoi's and Mr. Lopez's testimony leads me to believe that the affair was an ongoing thing and Mr. Andrews went to that bar to see the defendant's then-girlfriend."

At this point the judge was looking directly at Jake as he spoke, as if trying to find an inkling of truth to what he was saying. The entire court room's attention was glued on Jake. "When he realized she was spending the night with her boyfriend, he decided to provoke said boyfriend – Mr. Good – into doing something he would likely later regret doing and he did that by any means necessary; in this case, using the then-girlfriend as somewhat of a 'pawn', and shoving into her shoulder. He had been verbally jabbing at Mr. Good all night, and I have no doubt in my mind he knew this action would anger Mr. Good, resulting in some kind of physicality."

By now everyone knew there was some truth behind what the judge was saying because Jake's face had gone from confident to ghost white. "As I said, under normal circumstances, all I need is for it to be more likely than not Mr. Good struck Mr. Andrews, and given it was admitted by the defense. Now, legally I have to award Mr. Andrews what he's asking, but that would only serve to prove provoking someone into a confrontation is okay, and it is not," the Judge announced. "So while I legally have to give him what he's requesting, and while I also understand that Mr. Good does not wish to receive any money from Mr. Andrews, I do wish to award him something for dealing with something that should've never happened in the first place," the judge announced. "So, Ms. Goodwin, if your client agrees, I would like to award him two thousand dollars in punitive damages which will partly off-set the plaintiffs request as well as give the defendant an award. He can donate to any charity he chooses if he does not wish to keep it," the judge informed Clarissa.

"Give me a moment to discuss this with my client your honor and I'll gladly give you an answer," she responded. The judge nodded as Clarissa turned her attention to Jon.

"Can he do that even though I didn't file a counter suit," Jon questioned. Clarissa nodded.

"He's the judge, he can do pretty much whatever he wants in this court room. So what do you say, do you wanna take it? If you take it, it off-sets Mr. Andrews' monetary award, which means you get the money, and he gets nothing," Clarissa informed him. "As your attorney, and in my professional opinion, I suggest you take it. The judge already said you don't have to keep it, you can donate it to charity, but it would serve to teach Mr. Andrews that being a petulant child is not okay," Clarissa pointed out. "However, it's totally up to you," she quickly added. Jon nodded.

"I know I said I didn't want his money, but that was before I found out he and my now-ex-girlfriend were seeing each other. Yeah, let's do it. I'll definitely donate it to charity. Not sure which charity yet, but I'll figure that out with my bosses," Jon whispered. Clarissa nodded.

"Good choice," she smiled before turning her attention back to the judge. "Your honor, he has agreed to take the money and donate it to a charity. He's not sure which one yet, but he's gonna talk with his bosses and find out which one needs it most," she informed the judge. He smiled and nodded.

"All I ask, Mr. Good, is that you contact my court and let them know which charity it went to. It's not required, but I'd like to know just for my own personal reasons," he said. Jon nodded. "Very well than, one thousand dollars to the plaintiff for his medical expenses. However, I am awarding two thousand to the defendant in punitive damages. Therefore, the plaintiff gets nothing and the defendant gets one thousand in punitive damages. Next time you feel the urge to provoke somebody, Mr. Andrews, I suggest you think twice. This case is here by adjourned," The judge called out as Jake began to flip out at his table.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Jon found himself standing outside the court house with Clarissa, Joe and Colby, a huge smile present on his face. "I cannot thank you enough," he told Clarissa. "Can I take you for a cup of coffee, or dinner, something," he asked. Clarissa laughed.

"You've already paid me, Jon, there's no need for extra payment for me just doing my job."

"What if it had nothing to do with your job," he asked, the smile dropping from his face a little. Clarissa furrowed her brow.

"What's that supposed to mean," she questioned, a little nervous to hear his answer.

"I just mean, what if I wanted to get to know you as a friend, away from the office and court room? You seem like someone that would be a lot of fun to hang with. I know you have two kids, so it wouldn't be done often, but it wouldn't hurt to be friends, right," he questioned. Clarissa couldn't help the little sigh of relief that left her mouth.

"Not where I thought you were going," she admitted. Jon laughed.

"Sorry, I wasn't trying to scare you. But what do you say, do you want to go grab a cup of coffee and something to eat as friends. Get to know each other a little better," he asked. Clarissa shrugged.

"I guess a new friend can't hurt. I will admit, it feels weird to be becoming friends with a now-former client, but I suppose there is a first time for everything," she said with a laugh. Jon nodded.

"Definitely a first time for everything. Besides, if I get into any more trouble, I won't even have to think about who to call because I'll know my friend is a lawyer," Jon joked throwing her a wink. Clarissa shook her head.

"Oh, so that's what this is about," she asked, "You just want to make sure you have a lawyer on call, is that it," she joked back.

"Yeah, of course. I mean, I'm known for the trouble I get into, so why not play it safe," Jon continued to joke. Clarissa laughed and looked over at Joe and Colby.

"Is he always like this," she questioned them.

"Yes, all the time," both said simultaneously with a laugh.

"Good to know," Clarissa said as Jon lightly nudged her shoulder.

"Alright, let's get going. There's a Starbucks down the street we can hit up. I saw it on my way here," he announced. "That good with you?" Clarissa nodded.

"Yeah, that's fine."

"You guys coming," Jon questioned as they started walking toward their cars. Joe and Colby nodded.

"Sure, why not? Our flight doesn't leave for another six hours anyway, or at least mine doesn't, not sure about Joe's," Colby said as they followed Jon and Clarissa.

"I have another eight hours, so plenty of time to kill," he said. "Besides, I think you owe us lunch for being here, too," Joe joked. Colby nodded.

"Hey, that's not a half bad idea," Colby added. Jon shook his head.

"Because I love you both and I'm happy you were on my side, I will gladly buy you lunch. Least I can do," Jon admitted as they reached their car; Clarissa was ironically parked beside them. "So, we'll meet you down at the Starbucks," Jon questioned. Clarissa nodded.

"For sure," she smiled as she climbed into the car and cranked the engine, pulling out of the spot. Following her actions, Jon did the same and headed down to the Starbucks where they would all convene for a nice lunch.

* * *

 **Author's Note: I was gonna add the little 'lunch date' in this chapter, too, but then I decided it was best to put it in the next chapter. I know this chapter is a lot shorter than previous chapters, and for that I'm sorry, but the 'lunch date' in this chapter would've made things wayyy too long, and I really wanted to get this out before my life gets crazy with moving to the new department at work and having life get in the way. But I do promise I'm not totally leaving the lunch out. It'll be in the next chapter. :)**


	7. Chapter Seven

**Chapter Seven**

* * *

 **Author's Note: To the "guest" who tried to 'bash' me into updating this story by saying I don't ever finish stories and starting stories when you keep running into writer's block is stupid, in case you failed to notice I only have THREE stories; one is completed, two are "in progress", and the only one that I'm currently "stuck" on is the one that actually hasn't been updated in awhile, Love in Unexpected Places. Love Lives On was updated last month, and in the author's note on that update I said that it may be awhile before I got another update out because I had things going on at work that needed to be addressed before I could focus on this. As for me commenting on other stories and not posting on my stories, not that it truly matters, but in case you didn't realize it's a lot easier to write stories on a laptop than an iPad or phone, which is what I was commenting on stories from. As you so 'kindly' pointed out, this website is NOT my life, it's a hobby, but when I write I like to dedicate at least an hour, if not more, to making sure the chapter gets written and proof read before I post it. If I don't have that to dedicate to it then I don't write. I won't say I haven't suffered writer's block before because as I said above, my other story is suffering from that now, but this story not being updated since last month had nothing to do with writer's block, and everything to do with life getting in the way. For proof, I just wrote and proof read this entire chapter in 2 hours. So the next time you want to come on an anonymously bash somebody as a 'guest' to try to get them to update faster, do me a favor and remember to make sure you actually know what you're talking about. It makes you look like less of a fool. :)**

 **For the rest of you awesome people that have read and stuck with this story even through some of my delays, I thank you and I hope you all enjoy this chapter. :)**

* * *

When she reached the Starbucks up the road from the courthouse she parked her car right next to where Jon and his two friends had parked and proceeded to follow them into the Starbucks establishment. She still felt weird about this whole going to lunch and becoming friends with a former client thing, but it wasn't like this was a date. After all, he brought his two friends along, so that made it more like a friendly group lunch which made her feel a little better about it all.

* * *

After they ordered their lunches and sat down at a table she quickly checked her phone to make sure she still had some time before she had to pick her kids up from school. It was twelve thirty, so she had nearly two hours to get something to eat, go home and change from her court room wardrobe to her 'mommy' wardrobe and get to both schools without a problem.

"So what does your next case consist of," Joe asked, just to start a conversation.

Clarissa took a sip of her White Chocolate Mocha drink and swallowed. "Not as high profile as this one was, thank goodness," she joked.

"I'm not sure if I should be offended by that, or not," Jon said before taking a bite out of his Chicken BLT Salad Sandwich. Clarissa laughed.

"No, but really it's a pretty lame case. The best part about it is the fact that it pays well, but I'm honestly not even sure why they brought it to court," Clarissa said. "Unfortunately, I really can't discuss the details of the case with anybody; client confidentiality and all, but just know it's a really lame case," Clarissa explained. Joe laughed.

"Only in it for the money, huh," he joked. Clarissa nodded.

"Well, of course! I mean, I'm a single mother of two, with no support from anybody else, so I have to be in it for the money," she said it jokingly, but the look on both Joe and Colby's face's told her neither of them realized she had children, or that she had lost her husband. She didn't mind disclosing the information about her children because they would surely find that out eventually, but the widow story would remain in the dark for now.

"Wait, you have kids," Colby asked. Clarissa looked at Jon, almost surprised he hadn't disclosed that information with his friends, but figured he had his reasons.

"Umm, yeah. Two daughters," she informed them.

"Joe has a daughter close to your youngest daughter's age, I think" Jon threw in, trying to remove some of the new found tension that had suddenly overcome their little group.

"Oh really," Clarissa rhetorically questioned. "Cool," she added. "Kaylin, my youngest, is three, how old is your daughter, if you don't mind me asking," she asked Joe. He shook his head.

"No, I don't mind. Jojo's seven, she'll be turning eight in December," he informed her. Clarissa nodded.

"That's a fun age. Believe it or not, she's actually closer to my oldest daughter, Christiana's age, she just turned ten last month," Clarissa said.

* * *

Once that conversation ended the rest of their lunch was fairly quiet. They had a few odd conversations here or there, but nothing major. When Clarissa finished eating she pulled her phone out of her purse to see it was two o'clock. She had spent an hour in a half sharing lunch and small talk with them which left her with forty five minutes to get home, change and get to Christiana's school to pick her up before she had to swing by and pick up Kaylin from the daycare. It was definitely time to get moving. "Well, this has been a great lunch guys. Jon thanks again for paying for my lunch, but I have to get going. I want go home and change before I have to pick Christiana up from school and then swing by the daycare to get Kaylin. I'm sure I'll be talking to you soon," she smiled as she stood up from the table and grabbed her handbag.

"It was nice meeting you," Joe said as Colby added in a 'Yeah, what he said,' before Jon stood up to follow Clarissa out of the establishment.

"Thanks again for defending me in my case, and I will definitely be calling you to let you know about the charity the money is going to so you can let the judge know," Jon said as he followed her out the door. Clarissa smiled.

"No problem, and I'll definitely be looking forward to that call. I'm kind of intrigued to find out what charity you decide on myself," she acknowledged.

"I'll definitely let you know," Jon said with a smile as they reached her car and she unlocked it. Opening her door for her, he watched her climb in. "Bye," he added.

"Bye, I'll be waiting on your call about the charity," she said just before he closed the door and turned to walk back inside the Starbucks where Joe and Colby were still sitting waiting for him.

* * *

Joe and Colby watched Jon re-enter the establishment eyeing him suspiciously. He had a lot of things to explain. "So spill," Joe said as he sat back down. Jon eyed his with an almost confused look.

"Spill what," he questioned.

"What's the deal with you inviting her to lunch," Colby questioned. Jon shook his head.

"Nothing, I just figured since she saved my ass I should do something nice. Is that a crime," he questioned. Colby shook his head.

"No, but the Jon Good _***I***_ know wouldn't go out of his way just to do something 'nice' for somebody he barely knows; whether they saved his ass, or not," Colby pointed out. Before Jon could respond Joe jumped into the conversation.

"Forget all that, I get the 'nice' gesture and all, but what the hell was up with you not telling us she's a single mother with two daughter's and no fatherly support," he questioned. Jon shrugged.

"It wasn't my information to share, so I kept it to myself. I only knew because I was in her office the one day discussing details of the case and saw a photo of her two daughter's on her desk. I asked a couple questions and that's how I found out," Jon shrugged. "No big deal, really."

"Where's the father," Colby questioned. Jon shook his head.

"Not my story to tell, so I'm not telling it." Colby shook his head.

"When the hell did you become all high and mighty? There's something we're missing. There has to be," he added.

"You're not missing anything. Like I said, it's not my story to tell. I'm a private person, you know that, and I respect other people's privacy. If she wanted you to know, she would have told you when she told you she had kids. I mean, clearly she didn't mind telling you about her daughter's, so I'm sure she would have shared the whole story if she really wanted you to know," Jon told them. Joe shook his head.

"No, that's not all of it. You like her don't you? You really wanted this to be a date, but when she balked at the idea, you quickly back tracked and invited us to make it look less like a date, didn't you," he questioned.

"No," Jon answered all too quickly, pretty much giving himself away. "Maybe," he back peddled. "I don't know," he said throwing his hands up in the air.

"She's the reason you were able to kick Rebecca to the curb without so much as a second thought isn't she," they questioned. Jon shook his head.

"No, Rebecca was kicked to the curb because she's a no good, lying, cheating bitch. That's why Rebecca was kicked to the curb," Jon responded. Joe shook his head.

"I don't blame you for getting rid of Rebecca after what she did, but answer me this, were you in love with her," he asked. Jon sat and thought about it for what felt like the thousandth time in the month since the breakup, and every time he thought about it, he came up with the same answer.

"No, I wasn't in love with her," he answered honestly.

"And let's be honest, that relationship was on its last legs before Clarissa came about, wasn't it," Colby threw in. Again, Jon gave himself a few minutes to think about it before nodding.

"Yeah, I guess it was."

"Clarissa coming into your life when she did just helped speed the process up didn't it," Joe questioned, a smirk on both his and Colby's faces as if to say 'we already know the answer'. Jon sighed.

"Yeah, I suppose, but it doesn't matter because Clarissa isn't ready to date anybody. So until she's ready, I will just fight back my feelings, get to know her, and be friends because it seems like a better idea than just letting her walk out of my life and never seeing her again," Jon admitted.

"Look, our wittle Jon is growing up," Colby joked. Jon glared at him.

"Fuck you, dude." Joe laughed.

"Oh, lighten up, we're only fucking with you. But in all seriousness, I think you're doing the right thing. Just don't try to push her into anything, let it all happen naturally. I think you'll find it works a lot better that way," Joe said, remembering how quickly the relationship with Rebecca had come about.

"That's my plan. Especially because there's kids involved here," Jon pointed out.

"Yeah, the kids could make everything a lot messier if things don't work out. Just stick to your plan. I bet in the end it all works out for the best," Joe said smiling, trying to boost Jon's confidence in his plan.

"Thanks, I plan to," he nodded. "You guys ready to get out of here," he asked ready to end this lunch now that he had pretty much bared his soul to two of his best friends.

"Yeah, we have to get to the airport anyway," Colby added, checking his phone for the time. "Let's head out," he said as they all stood up to leave the establishment and head to the airport.


	8. Chapter Eight

**Chapter Eight**

 **Author's Note: Dialog heavy chapter, but it sets up the next 'face to face' meeting with Jon and Clarissa, so it was necessary.**

 **I go for my driver's license tomorrow, and have a few other things to do tomorrow, so I won't have time to write tomorrow; Friday I work, Saturday I'll be busy watching the WWE Network and all the Mania & HOF fun, so I probably won't get around to writing another chapter before Mania on Sunday, so here's to hoping Dean will find a way to beat Brock and we will all manage to enjoy a Mania card that - let's admit it - looks fairly mediocre on paper. **

* * *

A month had elapsed since Jon's successful trial and Clarissa's little lunch 'date' with what WWE fans knew collectively as 'The Shield'. She hadn't heard from Jon yet about which charity he was sending the money to, but she knew he was taking part in a two week European tour for WWE, that ended two days ago, so it wasn't a total shock she hadn't yet heard from him. After all, he had been pretty busy. She didn't know him well, but she had a feeling he'd get back to her fairly soon with a charity answer.

* * *

While she hadn't yet heard from Jon, that didn't stop her from continuing her everyday life as she slowly put the WWE superstar's case behind her and resumed her everyday duties as a lawyer and single mother of two girls. It was never easy, but she continued to trudge on as she had for the past three years; some days were still worse than others, but as long as she kept herself occupied it seemed somewhat easier. Especially when she talked with Christiana – whenever she wasn't in one of her moods – or played with Kaylin and got to listen to her giggle. Playing with or talking to her daughters always made life easier because they always did something that reminded her of their father, and that alone always brought a smile to her face.

* * *

She was broken away from her thoughts when her office phone rang. Putting the pen in her hand down, she quickly grabbed the receiver of the phone. "McAllister and Andrews Law, Clarissa Goodwin speaking, how may I assist you," she asked.

"Clarissa, hey it's Jon." Her ears perked up when she heard the familiar gruff voice on the other end of the phone line.

"Oh Jon, hi. To what may I ask, do I owe this phone call," she questioned. "I hope you're not in trouble again." Jon laughed.

"No, not in trouble. You're never gonna let me live that down, are you," he joked. "But anyway, I called to let you know I talked to a few executives at work and they left the charity decision up to me; which wasn't good because I'm clueless when it comes to these things, but anyway I finally decided which charity I was going to donate the money to," he informed her. Clarissa smiled.

"That's awesome. So what charity did you decide on?"

"Well, I took almost the entire month to think about it because, like I said, I'm terrible at these things, but then one of my co-workers ever so discretely brought up my childhood and suddenly it hit me," Jon told her, sarcasm ever so evident when he was referencing his co-worker. "I wanna give it to a charity connected to Children's Charities of America," he told her. Clarissa's smile faltered a little. She obviously didn't know Jon well enough to judge, but given he said this decision was based on his childhood, she had to guess his childhood was less than stellar. "I'm not positive which one exactly because they have like a thousand charities on their website, but I was researching a bit, and I have it narrowed down to _**1-800-Runaway**_ , _**Feed My Starving Children**_ , or _**Hope for the Hungry**_ ," Jon informed her, a little exaggeration in his statement.

Given the 'theme' behind the three charity choices she could only guess how rough his childhood truly was, but she wasn't going to ask. Instead, she decided to ask him about the charity choices. "So did actually get around to researching any of the three charities you liked? Are you leaning more toward one over the other two?"

"Yeah, I looked through all three's websites and I think I'm leaning more toward _**1-800-Runaway**_. The other two are world charities, and while I have nothing against world charities, I am more partial to keeping it 'at home', so to speak, and helping potential runaways," he admitted. Clarissa nodded.

"There's nothing wrong with that," Clarissa said. "So then you're going with _**1-800-Runaway**_ ," she question.

"Yeah, I think so. Do you think that's a good choice," he asked.

"I think whatever _**you**_ want is a good choice, Jon," she told him.

"Okay, than _**1-800-Runaway**_ it is," he decided with finality in his voice. Clarissa smiled and nodded.

"I will definitely let the judge know today, as soon as we hang up, and thanks for calling to let me know, Jon."

"Yeah, no problem," Jon said.

"Bye Jon," Clarissa said, thinking that was the end of their conversation.

"No wait, I have another question."

"Uh-oh. You are actually in trouble, aren't you? That's the real reason you called to let me know, isn't it?" Jon laughed again.

"No, I promise I'm not in any trouble. I just wanted to know if we could hang out again sometime in the near future." Clarissa frowned a little, thinking he forgot about the fact she was a single mother.

"Umm, I have kids, Jon. Hanging out isn't exactly easy for me," she reminded him. He nodded.

"I know, I know, but maybe we can do lunch, or something? I would suggest dinner, but I'm sure you're not ready to bring anybody new into your children's lives yet, so if you're willing to do lunch then I'm all for it," he tried. Clarissa's frown increased a little.

"Why would you assume I'm not ready to bring anyone new into my children's lives," she questioned, as if he had insulted her. Jon grimaced. He never intended to insult her. It would figure he would put his foot in his mouth.

"I just figured you wouldn't want me to meet your children because we're still practically strangers," he tried to redeem himself, though he wasn't lying. He figured a single mom wouldn't be willing to let a virtual stranger meet her children.

Clarissa shrugged. He did have a good point. She didn't know him very well, and bringing her kids into a situation like this could be a bad idea. "Okay, so after thinking about it, and listening to what you had to say, you're probably right. It's probably not a good idea, so yes, we can do lunch," she agreed. "On one condition," she quickly added, before he could get too excited.

"Okay, what's that?"

"We have to talk about our lives; get to know each other more. If you want to be friends, we have to get to know each other and trust each other," she pointed out. Jon grimaced again. He hated telling anybody about his life; especially his pre-WWE life. His career pre-WWE wasn't all that pretty, and his childhood was even uglier, but if that was her only condition, he would do it because he genuinely wanted to get to know her better and be friends.

"As much as I detest talking about myself, I like you enough to agree to this," he officially agreed. "I have off this entire weekend, so I'll meet you tomorrow for lunch," he asked. Clarissa smiled.

"Tomorrow sounds reasonable. Where are we meeting," she asked.

"I'm not sure. How about I meet you at your office and we'll decide on a place together there," he asked. Clarissa furrowed her brow beginning to think Jon had an ulterior motive.

"This isn't a date, Jon," she quickly verified. For the third time in their conversation, a laugh left his lips.

"I know it's not. That's not my intention at all. If you wanna drive yourself there you can, but I figured it would be easier to decide on a place to go at your office then sitting here for another thirty minutes trying to decide. We can decide on place to go to together at your office, and then I'll follow you, or you can follow me, whichever," Jon informed her. His idea sounded reasonable.

"Okay, I'll agree to do that, so I'll see you tomorrow around noon?"

"Yeah, noon tomorrow sounds perfect for a lunch date. I'll see you then," Jon said before they both hung up.

* * *

After her phone conversation with Jon ended, Clarissa's day seemed to just fly by. Between contacting the judge to let him know of Jon's final charity decision and filing endless paperwork time quickly got away from Clarissa easily.

* * *

Before she knew it, it was two-thirty, and time for her to cut out of work and go pick up Kaylin from daycare. Not to mention surprising Christiana by meeting her at their front door as she got off her bus; their fairly new Wednesday routine, that Christi hated because it meant Clarissa would make her do her homework before she was allowed to do anything else. That was the way Clarissa was raised and that was the way she planned on teaching her daughter, as often as she possibly could. It was usually only a doable routine on Monday's and Wednesday's when Clarissa left work early, but two out of five days was better than zero days. She did inform Christi's usual after school babysitter what she wanted done, but not being home to supervise made it difficult to make sure it was getting done. She knew the sitter tried to follow her expectations, but Christi was just very stubborn. Something she inherited from her father, and arguing with her tended to get old really fast, and Clarissa couldn't blame her sitter for giving up most days. But when she was home from work on Monday's and Wednesday's, her way was the way it would go, and no amount of arguing on Christi's part would do her any good because the idea that eventually Christi would thank her mother for making her do her homework and raising her right was good enough. The appreciation may not come until she has children of her own many, many years down the line, but just the vision alone was good enough for Clarissa to continue to push it on her daughter every chance she got.


	9. Chapter Nine

**Chapter Nine**

* * *

 **Author's Note: Sorry this update took so long. Took longer than even I wanted, but three weeks ago my grandma passed away and I haven't been in the mood to do much other than go to work. I had most of this chapter already written, so I finally felt like finishing it. It's probably not the greatest, but it was the best I could do. Hopefully it's good enough, considering the circumstances. :)**

* * *

"I just don't get why I am being forced to do something I don't wanna do." The statement made Clarissa roll her eyes as she walked through the door from work, unbeknownst to her daughter or the babysitter. She planned to keep it that way for the moment. She was curious to see how Rachel, the babysitter, would handle this situation.

"Your mother asked me to make sure you had your homework done by the time she got home today. She didn't go into specifics, all she said was she has a surprise for you and Kaylin. I am just doing my job, which is the exact reason you are being forced to do something you don't want to – because it's your job as a student," Rachel attempted to explain to the ten-year-old. "I know it's tough to understand right now. I was in your shoes about eight years ago, so believe me, I know. But you know what else I know? I know that in about ten years you'll be thanking your mom for making sure you got a great education," Rachel began explaining. "The reason I know this is because I'm doing it with my mom right now. So believe me, while it's not fun right now, in several year's-time you'll come to understand and appreciate everything your mom is doing for you and your sister."

"Yeah, whatever," Christiana snidely responded. Clarissa could just sense the eye roll in her daughter's tone. She appreciated Rachel's efforts, but it seemed pointless with Christi's attitude. Nothing was going to make her understand, except maybe graduation day. But that was still several years off, so until then, Clarissa would just have to find a way to survive her daughter's temper tantrums about anything school related.

"You can skip your homework and stay in your room all night while I take Kaylin to Chuck E. Cheese, if you would like," Clarissa said, finally making her presence known to the two young girls. Christi's eyes grew wide, knowing her mother had clearly heard her rude outburst moments before.

"That's not fair," she cried.

"Then do your homework without any more arguing," Clarissa reprimanded her eldest daughter who quickly decided to focus her attention back on the computer screen in front of her and got to work. "Rachel, may I speak with you in the other room for a moment," she requested. The young girl nervously nodded her head and followed Clarissa out into the living room area. "I heard most of that conversation, and I just wanted to tell you how much I appreciate your attempt. I've been hoping as time goes on that Christi will get easier to deal with, but it doesn't seem to be happening. Bribes are becoming an almost daily routine just to get her homework done, but that's here nor there right now. My point for pulling you aside was to tell you that I do appreciate your attempt and commend you on dealing with my extremely difficult daughter," Clarissa explained.

"Is that it," Rachel questioned, nervously. Clarissa nodded.

"Yeah, that was it. Why, what did you think I wanted," she questioned. Rachel shrugged.

"I thought I was in trouble, or worse, getting fired for something." Clarissa chuckled.

"Gosh, no. I just wanted to commend you and thank you, but I didn't want to do it in front of Christi for fear she'll act out again, that's all." Rachel smiled.

"Well, you're welcome. I am just trying to do my job. Not always easy, but nothing worth it in life ever is, right," she rhetorically asked. Clarissa smiled.

"You are correct," Clarissa acknowledged, even though she knew the question was rhetorical and didn't actually require a response. "Well, you are done for the day, and thank you so much for keeping Kaylin for me today, too. I will no doubt make sure you get extra in your paycheck on Friday for that," she said as they began walking toward the front door. Rachel smiled.

"It was no problem. She's absolutely adorable, and quite a joy to be around. I wouldn't mind watching her more often if you need me to," Rachel offered. Clarissa smiled and nodded as she pulled the front door open for the young girl.

"I will definitely keep that in mind. Thank you again," she said as Rachel stepped out the door and she closed it gently behind her before turning back toward the kitchen.

* * *

"How's homework coming along, Christi," she called into the kitchen.

"I'm almost done. I only had to finish four math problems and do a spelling worksheet," she called back.

"I'm going to check on Kaylin. I want to check the finished work when I come back," she said as she headed up the stairs to the bedrooms.

"Okay," Christi called back just loud enough for Clarissa to hear her. She walked down the hallway to find Kaylin in the playroom sitting at her little picnic table with a coloring book and crayons in front of her.

"Hi sweet girl, what are you doing," she asked.

"Hi mama. I cowor," she said pointing at her book.

"I see. That's very pretty. Did you learn that at daycare," she asked. Kaylin nodded.

"Well, why don't you start cleaning up? I'm gonna take you and your sister somewhere special," she told her as she pushed some bangs back out of her daughter's eyes. "I have to go check your sister's homework, so you clean up while I do that, okay," she asked. Kaylin nodded.

"Otay mama." Clarissa watched her daughter begin to put crayons back into her utensil box before she left the room and headed back downstairs.

"Are you done," she questioned Christi.

"Yes," she said, turning and pushing the laptop toward her mother. Because she was in a charter school, everything was done electronically. Clarissa loved the curriculum of the charter school much better than a regular school, but her one pet peeve was that everything was done via computer. She missed the days where kids have books and folders. But in order for her daughter to get the education she wanted her to have, this was the 'consequence' that came with it, so Clarissa decided long ago she would just deal with it.

Clarissa checked the math problems first before turning her attention to the spelling 'worksheet'. Everything appeared to be correct, as it was every night, so why she had to fight her to get her to do her homework was beyond Clarissa's realm of understanding. "Okay, good. Everything is correct. Go change out of your uniform and we'll go to Chuck E. Cheese," she told her as she logged off of the laptop and closed the lid.

* * *

Once Christiana was changed into play clothes and Clarissa had Kaylin ready she loaded the girls into the car and headed toward their local Chuck E. Cheese. "I have to stop at the bank so I can pull money out to get tokens," Clarissa informed her daughters as she turned into the bank parking lot. "I'll be two minutes. Stay here and keep the doors locked until I get back," Clarissa directed her eldest daughter. She normally wouldn't leave the girls in the car unattended, but Christiana was ten now, and most parents left their eight year olds in the car unattended, and Christiana, despite all the behavioral issues she had lately, was mature enough to know not to disobey her mother in this instance.

Clarissa was digging through her purse as she entered the bank, looking for her debit card, and never saw the person walking toward her until they collided with each other.

* * *

Jon was placing his debit card and money he had just withdrawn from his bank acct into his wallet when he collided with somebody. On instinct he reached out, grabbing the other person's arm to keep them from hissing the ground. "I'm so sorry, I…" he trailed off when he finally looked at the person. "Clarissa," he questioned. She looked up at him and gave him a quick smile.

"Sorry about that," she said. "I wasn't watching where I was going while trying to get my debit card out of my purse. My fault."

"No, I'm just as bad. I was putting my belongings in my wallet and not paying attention, either." Clarissa laughed.

"Well, sorry again. I have to get going. My daughters are in the car waiting for me," Clarissa told him as she started to walk past him.

"I won't keep you then, but while I have you here, a few friends and I are going to a club one day next week. It'd be cool if you came. If you can, that is." Clarissa smiled.

"If I can get a babysitter I'll be there. You just have to let me know exactly what day ahead of time so I can try to a babysitter," Clarissa told him. Jon nodded.

"I will text you next Wednesday after I get home with all the info," he said.

"Sounds good. I'll talk to you then," Clarissa said. Jon gave a nod.

"Hopefully I'll see you next week, but until then, have fun with your daughters." Clarissa smiled and nodded.

"Thanks, I plan to," she said as they walked away from each other.

* * *

After he encounter with Jon she finally managed to pull the money she needed out of the bank and took the girls to Chuck E. Cheese, where she and Christiana proceeded to play a ton of ski-ball, and basketball games while Kaylin preferred jumping in the ball pit, climbing through the tunnels, and sliding down the slides before having a pizza for dinner. At the end of the night, both girls got to pick a prize and Clarissa took them home for showers and bed.

It wound up being a pretty successful night, one where Christiana didn't give her an attitude or talk back. Definitely a successful night.


	10. Chapter Ten

**Author's Note: Sorry if there's any spelling errors or anything in this one. Normally I proof read, but tonight I'm being extremely lazy and just wanted to get this up, so please ignore any possible spelling errors you may see. I'm also sorry this took so long to get up. I have had no motivation lately to do anything. But I finally sat down in front of the laptop and just started typing. This chapter kind of just came together and it seemed to fit.**

* * *

 **Chapter Ten**

* * *

Clarissa sat staring at the menu in front of her, but nothing looked appealing. Of course, it would probably help if she could focus on the items in front of her instead of how to fix her home life. Despite the great night they had a Chuck E. Cheese, it didn't last. Christiana was right back to her antics the next day, and it seemed to have gotten worse. Her grades had slipped lower than they had ever been before and the school was threatening to expel her if she didn't pull them back up ASAP. Charter schools are great if your child is academically suited for them, but their expectations are extremely high, and even a tiny slip in grades causes and up roar. Up until this point Christiana had always met and usually exceeded all of their expectations.

Right after Caelan had died she had allowed her grades to slip a bit due to everything that was going on, but due to the circumstances, the school understood and allowed it to slide for a short period of time. By the next testing period she was back to her normal, straight A's-self. This new attitude she was displaying over the last few months was really beginning to frustrate Clarissa. The principal had told Clarissa the only reason they had yet to expel Christi is because this isn't like her, but she also informed her that if it continued they would have no choice but to expel her for underachieving academic levels. Clarissa was beside herself. She had tried everything to fix Christi's problems, but nothing was working. She was officially out of all options except for one. She hated this option. She had promised herself she would never allow her children to get to a point where this option was ever needed, but what choice did she have? Her daughter was beyond her help at this point, and there was only one option left. If this last option didn't work Christi was going to have to be removed from her current school and enrolled into a regular school. She wouldn't get near the education Clarissa had always wanted for her, but her new attitude was the deciding factor on that.

* * *

Jon entered the diner and stood inside the door waiting to be seated by the hostess. He looked around at his surroundings, as he always did and spotted Clarissa just as the hostess approached him. "Just one," she asked. Jon nodded, never taking his eyes off Clarissa. He couldn't help but notice the far-off look in her eyes, and the stress that was written all over her face.

"I know this is against your policy, but can you give me a second. I see somebody I know, I just wanna see if I can join her at her table," he asked the hostess. She frowned and followed his line of sight, which still hadn't left Clarissa.

"Normally I would say no because you're right, it's against our policy, but that women looks borderline distraught, and if you know her and think you can help her, I say go for it," the hostess said, giving him a small smile. Jon nodded.

"I hope I can help. You can walk me over, if you want, so it looks like you're seating me. I don't want you getting in trouble, or fired, or anything," Jon acknowledged. The hostess gave another smile and led him in the direction of Clarissa's table with a menu in her hand, as if she was going to seat him at a table near Clarissa, and stopped at the table next to the one she was sitting at.

"Is this good enough," she asked, to make it seem like she was sitting him at that table. He nodded.

"Yup, perfect, thanks," he said as he turned his full attention to Clarissa. "Hey stranger, mind if I sit with you," he asked her, pulling her thoughts back to the present.

* * *

The moment she heard his voice she was jolted out of her thought and came crashing back to reality as she looked up at him. She gave him the best smile she could muster, which she knew must have looked hideous. "Yeah sure, have a seat," she said motioning to the other side of the table.

Jon slid into the booth, took his menu from the outstretched hostess' hand and opened it. "So what has you so lost in thought, staring off into space as you try to decide on lunch," he asked as he folded the menu shut, knowing exactly what he wanted.

"Boy, you don't waste any time, do you," she chuckled as she finally decided on what she wanted and she too closed her menu.

"Nope, not when it comes to my friends who look like they haven't slept in days and they have the weight of the world weighing on her shoulders. So out with it, what's going on," he answered and fired off the question again.

"My eldest daughter is giving me a ton of problems, and I'm trying to figure out a way to make sure she's not going to get expelled from her school, but if I can't get her grades back up where they're supposed to be, that's exactly what's going to happen," Clarissa admitted.

"Wait, your daughter is going to get expelled for low grades? What the hell school does she go to," he questioned. Being a high school dropout, things like charter schools didn't really mean anything to him.

"She's in a charter school. Their expectations are super high, and anything under a C is grounds for expulsion if it stays in that area too long. These schools are supposed to set your child up for college earlier, but no college is going to take a student that gets D's and F's; especially later in the academic career." Clarissa could tell by the blank look on his face Jon had no idea what she just said. "I take it you don't know what charter schools are," she laughed. Jon shook his head.

"Nope, not a clue. Actually, I'm a high school dropout, so none of the academic stuff means much to me, honestly," he truthfully admitted.

The waitress approached then to take their orders. Jon ordered a cheese burger with a side of cheese fries while Clarissa ordered a chef's salad.

After the waitress was far enough out of earshot, Clarissa continued their conversation. "You dropped out of school," she questioned as Jon nodded. "I honestly never would have guessed that. You seem so intelligent," she admitted. He laughed.

"Thanks, but I didn't pass ninth grade. Once I got into wrestling I knew what I wanted to do with my life, and school didn't seem all that important anymore, so I dropped out and focused on my wrestling career," he informed her.

Clarissa was impressed. For a high school dropout, he was successful and had a good head on his shoulders. Well except for the one mess she had to help him out of. "Well, it's good to see you knew what you wanted and went after it without falling into a life of crime or something," she joked. Jon laughed.

"Well, I'm no saint. I had plenty of issues, and quite a few run-ins with the law, but I didn't rob any banks or anything like that," he admitted. He wasn't going to go into any details right now. His past was murky and it was best left in the past for now. If they got to a point where he felt he had to tell her, then he would, but for now he'd leave the dot connecting for a later time. "So what are you going to do about your daughter," he asked, bringing Clarissa back to her current problem just as the waitress set their plates down in front of them and walked away again.

"I only really have one option left," Clarissa admitted as she poured her ranch dressing onto her salad. "I'm gonna have to get her into therapy with a psychologist and pray she opens up to them and we can fix this. There's something bothering her. There has to be, and she won't tell me what it is, and she's not fixing it on her own, so now I have to have a professional do it before she gets expelled."

"Does she know she's about to get expelled," Jon asked after he had swallowed a bite of his food. Clarissa nodded.

"Yeah, she knows, but she doesn't seem to care. Then again, lately, she hasn't seemed to care about anything, and it's scaring me. It's like she has no emotions, and I have no idea how to fix that. I don't think I've seen her cry since my husband died, and that was over two years ago. She gets angry, but not like a normal person, and I haven't seen her laugh since before her father died. She's just a shell, and it's scary," Clarissa admitted as she pushed a tomato around her plate.

"I know I don't know her, but maybe I can try talking to her? I had a lot of issues with my parents growing up, so I know what it's like to feel shunned or abandoned. Maybe that's what she's feeling," Jon suggested. Clarissa frowned.

"Why would she feel shunned or abandoned? I have never made my children feel that way," she said, taking offense to what he'd said. Jon shook his head.

"I didn't mean by you, I meant by her dad. I know he didn't abandon her, but she may not see it that way. I'm just trying to help, but if you don't want me to, I won't," he said, holding his hands up in defense.

Clarissa saw where he was coming from and had never even thought of that before. It was possible that Christiana was feeling like her father abandoned her. But why was this something Jon would know about?

"So your dad died when you were younger," she asked, without really thinking. Jon laughed.

"No, he's still alive and well. I speak to him now, but for a large majority of my childhood he was in jail. For the longest time I thought he was the biggest asshole ever. When I was fifteen he tried to get back into my life, and I basically told him to go fuck himself. He didn't try to re-contact me again until I was twenty-two. At that point, I had matured a bit and decided to try to have a civil relationship with him, and now we talk. I wouldn't say we're best buds or our relationship deserves father/son of the year award, but I did allow him to come back into my life. I know she doesn't have that option, but I can relate to the abandonment part of this whole thing, if that's what she's feeling. Given I'm a stranger, she may be willing to open up to me, but I may have to promise not to tell you anything, and I would make and keep that promise unless she's threatening bodily harm or something," Jon opened up a bit. Clarissa nodded.

"I can live with all of that, if this will just help her bring her grades back up and fix her problems. That's all I want, is for her problems to be fixed and her grades to return to normal." Jon smiled.

"I can try to talk to her. I can't promise that she'll talk to me, but I can promise to try to get her to open up." Clarissa nodded.

"I'm willing to give it a shot. Can we go try it now? Well, I mean after we finish eating. She'll be home from school in like an hour. We can go pick up Kaylin and go to my house. I'll take Kaylin out back to play while you try to talk to Christi," Clarissa decided. If this worked and she could avoid a psychologist, she would owe Jon big time. Jon laughed.

"Sure, we can give it a shot, but don't be surprised if it doesn't work right away. I'm probably gonna have to 'earn' her trust. It'll be a work in progress, I'm sure, but you can't get anywhere without taking the first step, right," he rhetorically asked. Clarissa shook her head.

"Are you sure you're a high school dropout," she questioned as the waitress dropped the check on the table and walked away, Jon eying her.

"Yes, I'm positive. Was it me, or was she rather rude the entire time we were here," he questioned, still eying the waitress. Clarissa glanced back over her shoulder at the young girl who had served them.

"She was kind of rude."

"Good, it wasn't just me. She can forget getting a tip," he said as he stood up to go pay the bill. Clarissa followed behind him hoping this little plan they were going to put into motion would work.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** **I felt like having Jon opening up a bit seemed like a good route, considering all the issues Clarissa is having with Christi, so we shall see how she takes this little divine intervention from her mother and her mother's friend. But me thinks she isn't going to take it very well. Anybody else with me? lol  
**


	11. Chapter Eleven

**Author's Note: Happy 4th of July to all my American readers. Hope you all enjoyed your holiday and stayed safe with all your friends and family.**

* * *

 **Chapter Eleven**

* * *

Jon quickly paid the lunch bill before he and Clarissa left the small diner. As was already decided between the two of them, no tip was left for their ignorant waitress. "Okay, so I'll follow you to your youngest's day care, and then after that, I'll follow you back to your place and we will quickly devise a plan there before your oldest arrives home from school." Clarissa nodded as she opened her car door.

"Sounds like a plan to me," she acknowledged as she hopped in her car and quickly cranked the engine. After making sure Jon was behind her she pulled off and quickly, but safely, drove over to Kaylin's day care to pick her up.

* * *

"Kaylin, you and I are going to have a mommy/daughter afternoon while Christi talks with a friend of mine. We can play in the backyard and do whatever you want, okay," she informed her two-year-old after she had secured her into her car seat and began driving back toward her house, Jon still following her at a safe distance.

"Can we pway tea pawty and dwink wheel tea," she excitedly asked. Clarissa chuckled. She knew by 'real tea' Kaylin actually meant iced tea, which she was rarely allowed to drink. But today Clarissa would make a rare exception.

"Yes, we can play tea party and drink real tea. Remind mommy to make some before Christi gets home, okay," she told her. Kaylin nodded.

"Yay! Tea pawty wif wheel tea," she shouted as she kicked her feet against the edge of the back seat excitedly. Clarissa laughed at her daughter's excitement. These were the moments she cherished most with both of her daughters. The moments where nothing mattered, but their happiness. "Do I get to meet you fwend too, mama," Kaylin asked after she had calmed down, which broke through Clarissa's wall of thoughts.

"Of course. Actually, you'll meet him before your sister does," Clarissa quickly responded as she glanced in the rear view mirror to make sure Jon was keeping up a safe pace with her.

* * *

The rest of their car ride was fairly quiet except for the sucking noise that Kaylin made each time she would take a drink from her sippy cup, and the occasional 'look at that bird' or 'look at that air plane' comment Kaylin would always make every time she caught sight of one flying through the sky while they were driving.

* * *

It took a little longer than normal to get home because Jon kept getting trapped behind cars and Clarissa would get a little too far ahead of him, and then have to slow down, or pull over and wait for him to catch back up, but they still made it home with plenty of time to spare. Christi still wouldn't be home for at least another thirty minutes. Shutting the car off, Clarissa jumped out and walked around to the back door to unstrap Kaylin out of her car seat just as Jon walked up her drive way to the side of her car. "This is a nice little place you've got," Jon commented, eying the outside of Clarissa's two-story house.

"Thanks," she acknowledged the compliment. "Caelan and I bought it shortly after we got married. I actually thought about selling it after he got killed, but I ultimately couldn't part with it. Not when I knew I was pregnant and wanted our youngest daughter to know him even if she'd never actually know him, there were still a ton of memorabilia and such that would help me teach her about him and who he was," Clarissa told him. She had no idea why she had, but something in her made her say it. Jon gave her a sympathetic smile, but never got a chance to respond as just then Kaylin hopped down off the ledge of the car's back door and interrupted the adults.

"You must be mama's fwend. What you name," the unbashful two-year-old asked. Jon laughed.

"I am. You can call me Jon. What about you, what's your name," he asked.

"I'm Kaywin," she told him before taking another swig from her sippy cup, oblivious to anything else going on. Immediately Jon knew exactly where her name had originated from without Clarissa having to say a word, and again he gave her a sympathetic smile.

"I wish you would stop doing that," she said as she closed the door. "Come on, Kay, let's go in the house and make the tea for our tea party," she said as she led her daughter into the house.

"What did I do," Jon questioned, playing dumb. He knew exactly what she was referring to, but he didn't want to make it seem that obvious. He thought maybe if she thought he'd done it somewhat subconsciously she would soften a bit. No such luck.

"The sympathetic smiles," she pointed out even though she didn't truly need to. "Yes, it's a tragic story, and yes, I named my daughter in memoriam of her father, but I don't want or need sympathy," she told him as she unlocked the door and let Kaylin run in ahead of her and Jon. "I got plenty of that right after he died. It's been three years. I don't want any more sympathy from anybody."

"I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to offend you," he told her, holding his hands up in mock surrender. "I'm not good with these things, I'm not sure how to react."

"Just be yourself. No need to put on this sympathetic front. If that's why you're here to help Christi, then we should just forget the entire thing. I'm not now, nor have I ever been, a charity case." Jon was shaking his head before Clarissa had ever even finished her sentence.

"No, that's not it. I want to help Christi – I'm guessing that's your eldest daughter's name – because I want to and I believe I can and because we're friends and I'm trying to help you save money on a psychologist you don't actually need," Jon quickly informed her as he followed her into the kitchen where she pulled out the ice tea mix and a pitcher to make it in.

"Alright then, how do we plan to do this? You can't sneak attack her. It won't go over well," Clarissa said.

"I figured today and for the next few 'meetings' we would just go through the 'feeling out' process," he shrugged. "You know, I'll get to know her a little, she'll get to know me a little. I was thinking in the car, maybe it's a bad idea for you and Kaylin to leave the room. Then she'll know what we're up to. If we just make this a regular 'friend introduction' I think it may go over better," Jon admitted. Clarissa nodded.

"Now that you're saying it, you're probably right. But I already promised Kaylin we would play tea party," Clarissa whispered, watching her daughter play with her baby doll and stroller.

"You still can. Just pretend like Kaylin brought up the idea before Christi got home and now you're going to play tea party," Jon shrugged, as if it was no big deal.

"Seriously, are you absolutely sure you dropped out of high school?" Jon laughed.

"Yes, I am a thousand percent sure I am a high school dropout. I promise. Trust me, that's not something I would go around bragging about. It's not something I'm necessarily proud of, but it's a fact I can't ignore. As a matter of fact, when teenagers ask me, I'm truthful with them, but I also tell them not to follow my lead. I'm a terrible example," Jon said, exasperatingly shaking his head. Clarissa laughed.

"Well, it's good to see you don't promote dropping out of high school. If you did, we may not be able to be friends," she joked. He shrugged.

"Meh, I'd live," he winked and chuckled, letting her know he was only kidding.

* * *

Just as their conversation died off the front door flew open and in came the reason they were all there. "Mom, I'm home," they heard Christi shout. "No, I don't have homework, I finished during one of our free time periods today. I'm going out with…" her sentence died on her lips when she spotted Jon sitting on the sofa. "Who are you," she asked, a snide tone to her voice. She hadn't even acknowledged her mother.

"He's a friend of mine. Now I suggest you change your tone, or you won't be going anywhere any time soon."

"So I guess this means you're dating again," she spat, looking Jon up and down. "And you're dating _**that**_ ," she asked, a disgusted look on her face.

No, we're not dating, we're just friends. But for that extremely rude comment you can go up to your room. I will call you when dinner is ready," Clarissa said asserting her authority using her authoritative tone. Christiana ignored her mother and continued eying Jon.

"So I guess I was right all this time. You're just going to forget about dad and move on. That's lovely mom, just lovely," Christiana screeched as she finally stopped glaring at Jon and ran toward the front door.

"To your room, Christiana, or you're grounded for an entire month," Clarissa shouted as Christi wrenched the door open.

"You can't ground me if I'm not here to ground," she said as she ran out the door, her backpack still on her back.

* * *

Jon was shocked. He had never imagined that's how the first meeting with Christiana would go. He knew she was a troubled child from everything Clarissa had told her, but he never, ever thought she would threaten to run away.

"Did she just…" Clarissa asked, staring at the door. Before he could answer her unfinished thought she ran to the door and pulled it open, but Christiana was out of sight. "I need to call the police," she panicked as she ran for her cell phone. Getting up, Jon walked over and grabbed her arm.

"The police won't do anything yet. She's not considered a run away until she doesn't come home. As of now, it's just a threat. You have to wait until tonight. If she doesn't return by the time it's time to call it a night, then you can call the police," Jon reminded her. He knew she knew the law. After all, she is a lawyer. But when it's your own child threatening to break the law it's hard to sit by and watch it unfold. "I know this is hard, but you have to abide by the law and right now the law won't help you. Let's just focus on Kaylin. I'm sure it's an empty threat, and I won't leave until she comes home," Jon assured her.

* * *

Jon kept his promise. He stayed through dinner and all the way up until what would usually be Christiana's bed time, but the ten-year-old never came home. "Now before we report her as a runaway, do you know of any friends to call? See if she's over at one of their houses. While you do that, I'm gonna go looking around the neighborhood. I know I don't know it too well, but I'm sure I can search a few blocks without getting lost. Are there any parks in the immediate vicinity," he asked. She nodded.

"We have a park three blocks to the left," she informed him. "Alright, I'll search three blocks to the right, three blocks to the left and the park, if she's not there and you can't find her at a friend's house, then we'll call the police, but we have to exhaust all our options first." Clarissa nodded, silently agreeing with his assessment as he headed toward the door. "Just stay calm we'll fine her, I'm sure of it," he said as he opened the door and stepped out onto her front porch. He pulled the door closed behind him and glanced around real fast, just to get a quick read for the neighborhood before he ventured out into it.

* * *

Just as he was about to step down off the porch, movement to his left caught his attention and caused him to turn, spotting the 'missing' ten-year-old sitting on the front porch swing, quietly swinging. Putting his hands in his pockets, he slowly approached. "Mind if I sit down," he questioned. She shrugged. He could tell by the tear streaks trailing down her face she had been crying. "Well, before I ask any questions, let me introduce myself because we never got the chance to do that earlier with the way everything unfolded," Jon said. "I'm your mom's _friend,_ Jon," he introduced himself, stressing the word friend. "And I know you're Christiana. So now that, that's out of the way, do you want to tell me why you've been crying, and why you have your mother sitting in the house worrying about your whereabouts and ready to call the police?" She shook her head.

"Why should I tell you anything? You're just going to run in there and tell her. Besides, I don't know anything about you except your name and that you're apparently my mother's new 'friend', she said, quoting the word "friend" as she said it.

"You make a good point, but I can promise you whatever you tell me will stay strictly between us. I don't make a habit of telling other people's business because I wouldn't want people going around telling my business. I'm a fairly private person and due to my job I understand what it's like to have people delve into your business when you don't want them to. I also get what it's like for rumors to be spread about you. So with all that in mind, I'll quickly add that the only way I would ever tell your mom anything about your problems is if you were going to bodily harm yourself, and somebody else was threatening to, or going to do bodily harm to you," he paused, examining the young girl for any signs that either of those issues was on her mind, but saw nothing "and you're not planning to do that, right," he asked, just in case she was good at masking her emotions. She shook her head.

"No, I'm not that stupid, and if somebody was threatening me, I'd go to an adult," she replied snidely.

"Good, then we have no reason for me to tell your mom anything you tell me out here. I just want to help, that's all. I'm not trying to take anybody's place, or replace anybody. I just want to be a friend," he told her, as he shifted to face her a little better. She lifted her head and eyed him suspiciously, clearly trying to do what Jon had been trying to do to her moments before.

"You promise you won't tell my mom," she asked. He nodded.

"Scouts honor," he said, holding up to fingers. He could tell she was biting back a laugh, but he didn't point it out. He figured that would do more harm to the small progress he had managed to make than good.

"I don't want my mom to move on. I don't want her to forget about my dad. It's not fair. We were supposed to be a happy family that lived happily ever after; her, my dad, me and my sister. Instead, he gets killed before he even got to meet my sister, and his killer gets to enjoy life in prison," she said, the tears beginning to build behind her eyes again. "Why isn't he dead like my daddy? Why isn't his family suffering like we are, or did," she asked, the tears breaking the dam and sliding down her cheeks. "I want my dad back, but that's never going to happen, and if I can't have him than I don't want anyone coming in to take his place," she said, as tears continued to cascade down her cheeks.

Jon felt terrible for her. "I understand where you're coming from, more than you could ever know, but don't you want your mom to be happy?" Christi shrugged.

"She would've been happy with my dad, but the mean man destroyed that. So why would she want to be happy with someone else," she asked. Jon understood it was hard for a ten-year-old to totally understand everything that happened, and he wanted to reassure her that nobody was going to replace her father, but he wasn't sure how to do that. He had never been in this position before, despite the fact his life growing up was similar.

"Well, I'll admit, I haven't known your mom long, but I have known her long enough to tell you she's not dating anybody, and most especially not me," to drive the point home a little more, he decided to add "I tried, she shot me down, but after that I decided I wanted to be her friend, so I promise you she and I are just friends," he told her. The young girl eyed him, once again trying to find a trace of a lie somewhere, but everything in his body language pointed to nothing but the 'truth'. "Now, can we go inside so your mom knows you're safe, please? She's a nervous wreck wondering where you are," he informed her. "She wanted to call the police as soon as you left, but I talked her out of it." Christi nodded and began to stand up off the porch swing. "Thank you. Oh, but before we go in, I want to ask one more question, and for now I will take a yes or no answer, and remember nothing you say will go back to your mom. This is between us," he reminded her. She nodded. "Are your grades slipping because you're worried your mom is going to move on and forget about your dad, so you're acting out to deter any possible guys from wanting to date your mom," he asked.

* * *

Christiana wasn't sure how to react to that question. She knew no matter what she did she was going to give herself away, but she didn't feel comfortable enough with a guy she just met to give him a straight answer, so instead she just looked him dead in the eye before she dropped her shoulders and turned toward the front door ready to go face the wrath her mother was sure to throw at her.

* * *

He didn't get a straight answer from her, but the look the young girl gave him before she headed toward the front door told Jon all he needed to know. She was afraid her family was going to get forgotten about when her mom moved on and started a 'new family' with somebody else. While he told her this wasn't going to get back to Clarissa, he knew that was a lie. However, what he didn't lie about was the fact that _**he**_ wasn't going to be the one to tell her. He had to gain more of Christiana's trust and get _**her**_ to open up and tell her mother what was going on. He knew in order to do that he would have to open up more to her a little bit about his past, so she'd understand that he understood her, but all of this was a work in progress. No need to race to the finish line. It's important to remember that this is a marathon not a sprint.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Slow progress with Christiana. Don't think just because she opened up a little bit she and Jon are going to be best friends. I can assure you it most definitely will _not_ be that easy. But we shall see just how this little plan Jon has clearly concocted in his mind winds up panning out.**


	12. Chapter Twelve

**Author's Note: Sorry it's been so long. I was busy with work and life, but right now I'm on vacation and had a little 'free time', so I figured I'd throw up a quick update. This is all a bit of a filler chapter; just furthers along the issues between Clarissa and Christiana while Jon tries to help, basically. But hopefully you all enjoy it. The next chapter is typed up, and I'm hoping to start the following chapter in the next two days, or so. So hopefully I'll be able to get more chapters up quicker in the near future.**

* * *

 **Chapter Twelve**

* * *

Christiana walked back into the house, Jon following closely behind her. "You can call off the search party, Clarissa, I found her," Jon called as he pushed the door shut behind him. "She was sitting on the front porch swing when I walked out the door."

* * *

At the sound of Jon's voice, Clarissa looked up and dropped her cell phone down on the coffee table before leaping off the sofa. Running toward Christiana she tugged her into the tightest hug she had ever wrapped anybody in as the tears started to flow down her face. "Why would you run away like that," Clarissa questioned her eldest daughter through the tears.

* * *

Christi glanced back at Jon before shrugging her shoulders. She wasn't ready to talk to her mother about anything yet, but despite what he had said outside, she also didn't trust her mom's new friend not to open his mouth, either. She was stuck between a rock and a hard place here, but she would just have to hope and pray he wouldn't say anything. "You had me worried sick! I was ready to call the police after all your friend's parents said they, nor their kids had seen you. Don't you _ever_ do that again, do you hear me?

Christi nodded her head, still not ready to use words with her mother just yet.

"Christi, why don't you go get ready for bed while I talk to your mom for a moment," Jon quickly interjected. He knew Clarissa needed a moment to compose herself and she wasn't going to be able to do that with Christi in the room. Christi glanced back over her shoulder with a hard glare before heading up the stairs to get ready for bed. Jon knew by the glare exactly what she was thinking, but that's not what he was going to talk to Clarissa about; however, in order for her to learn to trust him, she'd just have to find that out on her own in due time.

"I think," Jon paused for a moment shaking his head. "No, better yet, I know you need to lay off her a little bit. I found out some things that I cannot disclose to you because if I do she'll never disclose anything to me again, and if I'm going to help you with this than we need to take it one step at a time, and Christi needs to learn to trust me," Jon informed Clarissa. "What I can and will say is right now Christi is having a rough time with life. As her mother you need to be there for her even if she won't always talk to you about what's bothering her," Jon started to explain. "Don't try to push her to talk just let her know that you're there if and when she ready to," Jon continued. "I know if I had that growing up I'd probably have a closer family," Jon mumbled, as an afterthought, but it must have been loud enough Clarissa had heard him; her furrowed brow told him so.

He shook the thoughts out of his head. "Sorry, we're not talking about me, we're talking about Christiana and from her demeanor earlier when we were out on the porch I can say I'm confident that she'll eventually come around and open up to you, but you need to give her time and space and don't try to force her to talk," Jon continued. "I know when I was younger when people tried to get me to talk it made me close myself off more," Jon caught himself. "Sorry. I keep going back to me, but I see a lot of signs in her that, looking back, I can now admit I saw in myself and my sister growing up, so I can't just ignore it," he explained. "But please trust me, I'm speaking from experience. Just give her some TLC, don't push her and eventually she will come around. However, there's also another hand. If you push her to talk and she doesn't want to, she will just close herself off even more." Clarissa didn't want to believe him, he could tell by the way she dropped her gaze onto the rug and was avoiding eye contact with him. He grabbed her hands and gave them a gentle squeeze causing her to look back up at him. Locking eyes with her and making sure to hold her gaze he continued "I know I keep saying it, and I'm sure it's getting annoying at this point, but just trust me. I promise you I'm speaking from experience here. I want Christi to come out of this part of her life stronger and better than ever, and I know you want that too, so please, please trust me," Jon all but begged. Clarissa dropped her gaze and pulled her hands away as she buried her head in her hands before giving him a quick nod.

"Okay, I get it, but all I can promise right now is that I'll do my best. But let's just say this plan doesn't work. I mean, what if she never opens up to me? What if our relationship is so damaged it's beyond repair," Clarissa fretted. Jon shook his head and cupped the sides of Clarissa's face to force her to look at him this time.

"That's not going to happen, Rissa." Her face turned pale white as tears began to build in her eyes and she wrenched her head back out of his hands and buried them in her own hands as sobs wracked her body. Jon was totally confused. What had he said, or done that would cause her to cry like that? "Clarissa, what's wrong? What did I say?" She shook her head.

"Nothing, nothing. It's just, nobody has called me 'Rissa' since before Caelan died. It caught me off guard and I'm already emotional, so the dam just burst. I'm sorry."

Jon suddenly felt like an ass. He just figured with a name like 'Clarissa', that 'Rissa' was a common nickname. Clearly he was wrong. "You have no reason to be sorry. I'm the one that should be apologizing. It's too early to be using nicknames like that with each other, but it just slipped. I won't do it again." She shook her head.

"No, it's fine, really. Actually, I like hearing it being said again. You don't have to not use it. I promise I won't react this way every time I hear it I was just surprised that's all." Jon was skeptical, but nodded his head.

"Well, as I was saying before that slip up, Christi is ten, you're mother/daughter relationship has barely had time to exist let alone develop in order to be 'damaged'," Jon pointed out. "She's just getting to that age where she's finding out who she can and cannot trust, and that's why I cannot tell you what she told me. Because I want her to trust me and if I tell you what we talked about she'll feel like that's not possible," Jon explained. "Just trust me and don't push her. Believe me, you'll thank me for it later." Clarissa nodded.

"Okay, I'll do my best to do as you say," Clarissa accepted his explanation. "You know, I'm slowly beginning to think you should've been a therapist instead of a professional wrestler." Jon laughed.

"No, I shouldn't have been. I'm only good at helping here because I can see so much of my younger self and my younger sister in Christi." Jon chuckled. "It's actually kind of scary, to be honest." Clarissa smiled.

"Well, I'm grateful for any help I can get at this point. I'm honestly at my wits end. If this doesn't come to an end soon I don't know what I'm going to do. I'm ready to give up," Clarissa admitted.

* * *

Christiana was coming down the stairs when she heard her mom say she was ready to give up stopping her dead in her tracks. What exactly was she ready to give up on?

"You don't want to do that," Jon shook his head. "You're just stressed, and feeling like that is understandable, but you don't actually wanna give up. On _anything_ ," he emphasized the word 'anything'. Clarissa shrugged.

"Sometimes I wonder if it would just be easier to just give up, honestly." Jon shook his head. He had heard enough of her belittling herself.

"That's it. Sit down, we're going to talk," he said, the demanding tone in his voice evidence that he wasn't messing around. "And by 'we're going to talk' I mean, I'm going to talk and you're going to listen," he emphasized. Clarissa did as he said and sat on the sofa, he sat on the edge of the coffee table directly in front of her as he grabbed her hands once again. "I may not have known you all that long, but I know you're stronger than this. You know how I know," he asked. She shook her head. How could he know? As he already said he hasn't known her very long. "You lost your husband, instantly became a single mother to not one, but suddenly two kids. If you were going to give up, you'd have done it then. But look at you, sitting here four years later, still fighting," he squeezed her hands as he emphasized 'fighting' "You're not a quitter, so don't let the stress you're under now turn you into one. I get things are hard at the moment, but as I said earlier Christi needs you to be strong. I also told you I can't tell you why, but just know that if you're strong it'll get her through this time in her life a lot easier," Jon told her.

"I know none of this is easy on you, either. So if you need a shoulder to cry on, even if I'm not in Vegas at that moment, call me," he told her. "You can cry all you want, I'll listen. If for some reason I don't answer because I'm in the ring, or I happen to be on a plane just leave me a message, and I will get back to you as soon as I possibly can," he continued. "I mean, I think if I've done nothing else tonight I have proven I can listen really well," Jon joked, lightning the tense mood just a tad and getting a chuckle out of Clarissa. "No, but seriously, if I'm in town call me and I'll come over. If I'm not, I will listen to you on the phone for as long as you need to vent, so just call me. Got it," he asked, pressing his forehead against hers.

"Yeah, I got it."

* * *

He moved his head away from hers and began to stand up. "Alright, I should probably get home, and let you get Christi into bed. Remember, call me if you should need me," he said, heading for the door, Clarissa following behind him.

"I will," she said as he opened the door and stepped out. "And Jon…" she called as he approached the steps to head to his car. He quickly turned around to see why she was calling him. "Thank you. For everything," she quickly added. He nodded and gave her a smile.

"Any time. And I was being serious, if you need anything just call me. Day or night; twelve PM, or twelve AM. It doesn't matter because I'll always listen to whatever is bothering you." She nodded.

"I know. I will, I promise."

* * *

After Jon left Clarissa turned around to see Christiana standing in the middle of the stairs. She gave her a half-smile. "I was just coming up to tuck you into bed," she told her.

"What are you giving up on," Christi asked, fear clearly evident in her shaky voice. Clarissa cringed. She never meant for Christi to hear her and Jon's conversation, but now that she knew she had it was time for a nice mother/daughter chat. Holding out her hand for Christi's she nodded in the direction of the sofa.

"Come over here and sit, let's talk for a minute. I think that's one thing we haven't done enough of lately," Clarissa admitted as Christi took her hand and they walked over to sit on the sofa. It was time to try Jon's method on for size. "I never meant for you to hear any of that conversation, and when I said I was giving up I wasn't actually being serious. I'm just stressed to the max right now and I'm going to say things I don't mean a lot of the time. I know you're too young to understand all of this at the moment, but as you get older I'm sure you'll understand it better. But for now, just know I didn't mean I was giving up in the literal sense of the phrase. I would never do that."

"So your friend didn't tell you what he and I talked about while we were out on the porch," Christi asked. Clarissa gave her a sad smile and shook her head.

"His name is Jon and no, he didn't. He said it would be best if I heard it from you, and if you're not ready to talk to me about it then that's fine. Just know that when you are finally ready I'll be here, and I'll be more than ready to listen to whatever it is you have to say whenever that time comes," Clarissa informed her eldest daughter as she brushed some hair back out of her face. "I don't want you to feel pressured into anything," she told her. "By me or anyone else about anything," she added. "However, I do want you to know that I love you, and I will go to the ends of the earth for you and your little sister. So if that means you want me to wait a little longer because you're not ready to tell me what's bothering you than I will as long as you know that I am here and willing to listen whenever you're ready to talk, okay," Clarissa asked. Christi nodded.

"With that said, is there anything you want to talk about, or are you ready for bed," Clarissa asked, giving her daughter the option to talk some more, but also being sure to give her the option to opt out of talking.

"I'm ready for bed. But when I'm ready to talk, I promise I'll come straight to you," Christi said. Clarissa nodded.

"Okay, let's head upstairs and I'll tuck you in."

* * *

As Clarissa followed Christi up to bed she realized that for the first time in a while it had been a long, but a fairly productive day. It still wasn't going to end the way she had wished it would, but she was bound and determined to follow Jon's advice with the hope that Christi lived up to her promise and in time would come to her so they could talk out whatever it was that was bothering her. But for now, she was going to back off and hope and pray everything turned out for the better in the end.

* * *

As Christi drifted off to sleep she realized that talking to her mom wouldn't be the end of the world and that perhaps this Jon guy wasn't half bad. After all, so far, he had kept his promise and not told her mom what they had talked about, and that had to earn him some type of points, right? She still wasn't fully ready to trust him, but if he continued on the path he currently had carved out maybe she'd fully trust him as part of their family one day.

That is, provided he and her mom decided to go down that path some time down the line.


End file.
